Living With Fire in California's Coast Ranges
In October, 2017, wildfires devastated communities in the wine country of Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino Counties. Large, destructive wildfires are not novel in California’s Coast Ranges – remember the Berkeley Hills and Marin County fires in 1923, the North Bay fires in 1964, the Oakland Hills fire in 1991, Lake County in 2015; the Monterey Coast/Big Sur fires in 1977, 2008, and 2016 – but their episodic occurrence and the short memory of humans lead to surprise at the ferocity of nature, and tragedies ensue that education, foresight, and planning might have forestalled. Large, destructive fires will occur again in the future, and their probability may be increasing with the warming climate and expanding human footprint. Preparedness requires that we understand the causes and the nature of wildfire in the region, and how human communities and infrastructure might better interact with the ecology of fire.
The Living with Fire symposium will bring together experts in fire ecology and management, community planning, fire safety and preparedness, and global change. The intended audience includes property owners, the general public, policy makers, planners, managers, scientists, educators, and any others who are interested in the intersection of human communities and fire. The event is sponsored by a coalition of educational, fire and resource management, and extension organizations.
May 7-8 will be devoted to presentations by subject experts, with question-and-answer sessions and ample opportunity for audience participation during structured discussions.
May 9 will feature a series of field trips to fire-affected communities and landscapes in Sonoma and Napa Counties. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.
For more info and for registration click here.