Housing & Infrastructure

Fires & Floods Destroy Homes Until People Can't Afford to Rebuild or Move

Tools, Guides, & Resources

Africa

• Africa Fire Mission "Committed to building and increasing the sustainable capacity of fire departments in developing communities."

• Africa The Fire Continent (PDF) "This report is aimed at provoking discussions on these issues and reminding us that the right fire management regime is an important element in maintaining the health of different ecosystems. We see this as the start of an important debate on how fire should be used to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems, promote agriculture, and build up carbon stocks to address climate change, while reducing the risks to life and property."

• Fire Management Research Network (FMRM) "is an online platform on the Working On Fire website for the purpose of sharing knowledge and ideas on fire management in South Africa. The Network aims to foster collaborative efforts in fire management across South Africa and will provide researchers, scientists and students in this field with a platform to interact, exchange and share their work. Very often researchers pursue their work in isolation from fire managers, hence limiting the impact of their work. This Network’s objective is to bridge the gap between applied management and academic work. Essentially the Network aims to serve as a link, contact and support for the South African, African and international fire management community and researchers."

• Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa (PDF)

Europe

• Best Practices of Fire Use - Prescribed Burning & Suppression Fire Programmes in Select Case-Study Regions in Europe (PDF)

• Prescribed Burning in the European Mediterranean Basin (PDF) This paper focuses on information from Catalonia, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

North America

USA

• Decision Support Tools

• e-FIRE An interactive video course designed for landowners and those new to prescribed fire to learn how to plan, conduct, and evaluate a burn.

• Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) "are groups of landowners and other interested people who form partnerships to pool their knowledge, equipment, and other resources to conduct prescribed fires. It can be very difficult for private landowners to gain the hands-on training needed to safely and effectively use prescribed fire. PBAs can not only provide that training, but serve to build a community of engaged landowners who can connect with one another on other land management issues as well.
  
  PBAs are most widespread in the Midwest. However the concept has become increasingly popular as interest has grown in expanding the use of prescribed fire on private lands. In the Southeast, PBAs now exist in states including North Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi."

California

• Cal PBA "is a one-stop location for PBAs in California - providing contact information and useful prescribed fire resources."

• State Wildlife Action Plan "A plan for conserving California's wildlife resources while responding to environmental challenges"

Oklahoma

• Start A Prescribed Burn Association fill out a form for help.

Texas

• Landowner Resources

Organizations

The following organizations help reduce the impact of fire. Some promote controlled burning at specific times of year in appropriate locations, to prevent bigger, more dangerous fires later in the year. Others educate farmers on affordable ways to avoid crop burning. 

International

• International Association for Wildland Fire: Pescribed Fire: A Tool for Our

Africa

• Africa Fire Mission "Committed to building and increasing the sustainable capacity of fire departments in developing communities."

• Africa The Fire Continent (PDF) "This report is aimed at provoking discussions on these issues and reminding us that the right fire management regime is an important element in maintaining the health of different ecosystems. We see this as the start of an important debate on how fire should be used to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems, promote agriculture, and build up carbon stocks to address climate change, while reducing the risks to life and property."

• Fire Management Research Network (FMRM) "is an online platform on the Working On Fire website for the purpose of sharing knowledge and ideas on fire management in South Africa. The Network aims to foster collaborative efforts in fire management across South Africa and will provide researchers, scientists and students in this field with a platform to interact, exchange and share their work. Very often researchers pursue their work in isolation from fire managers, hence limiting the impact of their work. This Network’s objective is to bridge the gap between applied management and academic work. Essentially the Network aims to serve as a link, contact and support for the South African, African and international fire management community and researchers."

• Southern African Fire Network "is one of the global regional networks that foster collaborative efforts in fire monitoring and management in southern Africa.  SAFNet's goal is to achieve more effective and appropriate fire management policies and practices in southern Africa through the use of remote sensing and other geospatial information technology. SAFNet's purpose is to enhance the use of information from field observations and remote sensing of fires for natural resource management in southern Africa."

• Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa (PDF)

Angola

• Fire Management Strategy for Bwabwata NP and Luiana PR "This document i) provides a brief overview of the current fire regime and fire management status in Bwabwata NP and Luiana PR; ii) proposes an Integrated Transfrontier Fire Management Approach to achieve PA Management objectives, improve community livelihoods and GHG reductions; and iii) provides recommendations for implementation of the proposed Integrated Transfrontier Fire Management Approach."

Namibia

• Fire Management Strategy for Bwabwata NP and Luiana PR "This document i) provides a brief overview of the current fire regime and fire management status in Bwabwata NP and Luiana PR; ii) proposes an Integrated Transfrontier Fire Management Approach to achieve PA Management objectives, improve community livelihoods and GHG reductions; and iii) provides recommendations for implementation of the proposed Integrated Transfrontier Fire Management Approach."

South Africa

• Fire Management Research Network (FMRM) "is an online platform on the Working On Fire website for the purpose of sharing knowledge and ideas on fire management in South Africa. The Network aims to foster collaborative efforts in fire management across South Africa and will provide researchers, scientists and students in this field with a platform to interact, exchange and share their work. Very often researchers pursue their work in isolation from fire managers, hence limiting the impact of their work. This Network’s objective is to bridge the gap between applied management and academic work. Essentially the Network aims to serve as a link, contact and support for the South African, African and international fire management community and researchers."

North America

Canada

• Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange "We provide training, planning and knowledge sharing around the use of prescribed fire as a management tool for enhancing healthy prairie and parkland ecosystems. We recognise the importance of fire as an instrument for conservation, traditional practice, and public safety."

USA

• Anthropocene Alliance (A2) "has almost 300 member-communities in 41 U.S. states and territories. They are impacted by flooding, toxic waste, wildfires, and drought and heat — all compounded by reckless development and climate change. The consequence is broken lives and a ravaged environment.

The goal of A2 is to help communities fight back. We do that by providing them organizing support, scientific and technical guidance, and better access to foundation and government funding. Most of all, our work consists of listening to our frontline leaders. Their experience, research, and solidarity guide everything we do, and offer a path toward environmental and social justice.

Supported by outstanding partner organizations with expertise in engineering, hydrology, public health, planning, and the law, A2 leaders have successfully halted developments in climate-vulnerable areas; implemented nature-based hazard mitigation strategies; organized home buyouts; and pushed for clean-ups at superfund sites, toxic landfills, and petrochemical plants.

We support everyone we can, but our special priority is people who have suffered the worst environmental impacts for the longest time; that usually means low-income, Black, Latinx, Native American and other underserved communities.

To learn about our policies, read our A 10-Point Platform on Climate Change."

• Fire Organizations & Agencies "These fire organizations and agencies provide assistance and information to the fire community throughout the Great Plains."

• Great Plains Fire Information "is an interagency cooperative group of Public Information Officers providing information about incidents within the Great Plains Dispatch Zone."

• Great Plains Fire Science Exchange "exists to assist land managers and the fire community to make sound decisions based on the best possible information.
  
  Through this information sharing process, we hope to strengthen collaboration within the fire community in the region in addition to having information available for policy makers.
  
  Those who produce fire science as well as those interested in applying the science are all welcome in the Exchange."

• National Interagency Fire Center "Coordination and cooperation in wildland fire management."

• The Southern Fire Exchange (SFE) "is a fire science delivery program in the Southeast, funded by the Joint Fire Science Program. With our key partners, we strive to improve access to and usefulness of southern fire science information and offer opportunities for the fire community to interact and learn from one another."

 Alabama

• Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Association "We work together as a community to train and learn to safely apply fire to the landscape for public safety, ecological restoration, and habitat improvement. Our organization serves as a network to connect central Alabama land owners with people in our 22 county area who volunteer to contribute knowledge or manpower to assist with local burn efforts."

Arkansas

• Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) (Directory) "are groups of landowners who form partnerships to pool their knowledge, equipment, and other resources to conduct prescribed fires. While this is a recently developed program in Arkansas, there are established PBAs in surrounding states. They generally have a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and board members. Once a prescribed burn association is established, they will receive training and can apply for a burn trailer and equipment provided in partnership by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Quail Forever, and United States Fish and Wildlife Service."

California

• Cal PBA "is a one-stop location for PBAs in California - providing contact information and useful prescribed fire resources."

• CalfFire: Prescribed Fire "The planned and controlled application of fire to the land under specified conditions, to reduce vegetation and risk from wildfire."

• The California Air Resources Board: Prescribed burning "Prescribed burning is the controlled application of fire to the land to reduce wildfire hazards, clear downed trees, control plant diseases, improve rangeland and wildlife habitats, and restore natural ecosystems. Sometimes called a controlled burn or prescribed fire, prescribed burning is one of the most important tools used to manage fire today. As catastrophic wildfires continue to be a growing concern in California, the use of prescribed burning to reduce hazardous fuels is projected to increase. Daily burn decisions are issued based on the forecast of air quality and meteorological conditions that can affect smoke dispersion."

• California PBA "Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) are community based, mutual aid networks that help private landowners put “good fire” back on the land. The Cal PBA website is a one-stop location for PBAs in California - providing contact information and useful prescribed fire resources. 

• Fire MOU Partnership "In 2015, twelve organizations comprised of state and federal land and resource management agencies, environmental groups, and regional prescribed fire councils came together to pledge their commitment to advancing the use of fire for ecological benefit and improved fire management. They included the U.S. Forest Service, Sierra Forest Legacy, Cal Fire, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Park Service, Northern California Prescribed Fire Council, and the Southern Sierra Prescribed Fire Council.
  
  Since then, an additional 23 partners have signed on to the MOU (35 total today). The following agencies and partners are currently members of the MOU Partnership..."

• Lake Tahoe Basin: Subscribe to our Prescribed Fire Notification List "If you would like to sign up to receive U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management prescribed fire notifications, please" sign up or unsubscribe via this link.

• Northern California Prescribed Fire Council "is a venue for practitioners, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, tribes, coalitions, and interested individuals to work collaboratively to promote, protect, conserve, and expand the responsible use of prescribed fire in Northern California’s fire-adapted landscapes."

Florida

• North Florida Prescribed Burn Association (NFPBA) "The purpose of the [NFPBA] is to facilitate the safe and effective use of prescribed fire by promoting landowner cooperation and providing the resources, education, and training necessary to return fire to its place as a tool for ecosystem maintenance."

• Northwest Florida Prescribed Burn Association (NWFPBA) "is a non-profit organization consisting of private landowners and other conservation-minded individuals interested in getting more prescribed fire on the landscape.
  
  The Northwest Florida PBA brings together knowledge, experience, and resources to put good prescribed fire on more private lands throughout the area.  The region covered by this PBA is from Madison County to Escambia County in Northwest Florida.
  
  Just an initiation fee of $100 to join. No annual dues. The Northwest Florida PBA also has a $200 burn fee for each burn conducted on your property.  These fees are used for tool maintenance, purchasing new equipment, and any other needs the PBA has." (Facebook)

• Southwest Georgia Prescribed Burn Association "The purpose of the Southwest Georgia Prescribed Burn Association is to promote the use of prescribed fire by encouraging landowner collaboration and supplying the training, education, and resources needed to utilize burning as a land management tool."

Hawaii

• Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization "Working with communities across Hawaii on wildfire prevention, mitigation, and planning activities in the Hawaii-Pacific region through proactive, collaborative, and forward-thinking projects.

Illinois

• SIBA "We help landowners restore native vegetation and wildlife habitat by providing a trained crew, equipment, and the resources necessary for conducting a safe prescribed fire on their land."

Kansas

• Kansas Prescribed Burning Associations (Directory)

Missouri

• Missouri Prescribed Fire Council 

Nebraska

• Prescribed Burn Associations (Directory) "Pheasants Forever helped form local Prescribed Burn Associations (PBA) throughout Nebraska to help overcome the three recurring limitations: adequate knowledge, equipment, and assistance for prescribed burning. Burn association members must attend a basic burn workshop and participate in at least 1-2 burns each year. While private landowners often request assistance in completing CRP management burns, prescribed burn associations are not a work-for-hire operation. Rather, their success relies on a neighbor-helping-neighbor model.
  
  Using grant money from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Pheasants Forever developed mobile prescribed burn units for every burn association, complete with $28,000 worth of burn equipment. The units have basically everything you would need for a safe and effective prescribed burn in a grassland environment: drip torches, skid sprayers, hand tools, radios, protective clothing, etc.
  
  Interested in joining a prescribed burn association? ..."

Nevada

• Fire MOU Partnership "In 2015, twelve organizations comprised of state and federal land and resource management agencies, environmental groups, and regional prescribed fire councils came together to pledge their commitment to advancing the use of fire for ecological benefit and improved fire management. They included the U.S. Forest Service, Sierra Forest Legacy, Cal Fire, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Park Service, Northern California Prescribed Fire Council, and the Southern Sierra Prescribed Fire Council.
  
  Since then, an additional 23 partners have signed on to the MOU (35 total today). The following agencies and partners are currently members of the MOU Partnership..."

• Lake Tahoe Basin: Subscribe to our Prescribed Fire Notification List "If you would like to sign up to receive U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management prescribed fire notifications, please" sign up or unsubscribe via this link.

New Mexico

• BLM New Mexico: Prescribed Fire

• NMED: Smoke Management Program includes a list of resources.

North Carolina

• Piedmont Prescribed Burn Association  "We are a community-based organization dedicated to increasing access to prescribed fire on lands in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The Piedmont Prescribed Burn Association welcomes individuals who are passionate about supporting conservation initiatives, including private landowners, natural resource professionals, students, and the general public. Together, we strive to foster a collaborative environment to promote the responsible use of prescribed fire for the benefit of our local landscape."

• Southern Blue Ridge Prescribed Burn Association "We are a community-based organization focused on increasing access to prescribed fire on private lands to benefit the Southern Blue Ridge mountains. Members of the Southern Blue Ridge Prescribed Burn Association include anyone interested in supporting the conservation effort: private forest landowners, natural resource professionals, students, and the public.
  
  Please contact us if you are interested in joining or learning more!"

• Triangle Prescribed Burn Association (TPBA) "is a group of like-minded individuals in the Triangle area across 5 counties (Orange, Alamance, Person, Durham, and Chatham) that come together to use fire as a tool for ‘Best Land Management Practices’  to restore the land and to advocate for people willing to support our effort. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the number of wildfires in our state.
  
  Prescribed fire is a normal part of regeneration for the health of the forests and grasses in the environment. America lost its recognition that fire is safe and healthy when applied correctly. We are now recognizing the positive benefits of its use."

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association is a non-profit that supports local PBAs, and helps to develop new ones across Oklahoma. 

Oregon

• Eugene: Ecological Burning 

• Certified Burn Manager Program "In 2021, Legislators passed Senate Bill 762, requiring the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to develop a Certified Burn Manager (CBM) program. The overall goal of this program is to reduce barriers to prescribed fire in Oregon by increasing available resources on non-federal ODF protected lands through a prescribed fire leadership training and certification program. When landowners within ODF protection districts use a certified burn manager and follow the required burn plan it protects both from civil liability. ODF is seeking applications from individuals interested in becoming CBMs and training providers who have experience with the creation and delivery of wildland fire training to deliver content based upon a detailed CBM instructor guide and final exam provided by ODF.
  
  Initially, while training providers are entering into agreements with ODF and creating content in preparation for delivery based on ODF’s CBM instructor guide, only individuals with existing National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) qualifications as a Type 2 Burn Boss (RXB2) or documentation of prior experience leading burns are eligible to apply for historical recognition. For those with experience in prescribed fire seeking to gain knowledge, skills, and the abilities in leading burns, the certified burn manager course is expected to be made available by January 2024. Once the certified burn manager course has been completed, a field certification book will be issued by ODF to be submitted for certification as a burn manager." Click the link to apply.

South Dakota

• Great Plains Fire Information "is an interagency cooperative group of Public Information Officers providing information about incidents within the Great Plains Dispatch Zone."

• Great Plains Fire Science Exchange "exists to assist land managers and the fire community to make sound decisions based on the best possible information.
  
  Through this information sharing process, we hope to strengthen collaboration within the fire community in the region in addition to having information available for policy makers.
  
  Those who produce fire science as well as those interested in applying the science are all welcome in the Exchange."

Oceana

Australia

• Bush Heritage Australia: Fire Management "Aboriginal people have managed fire regimes for thousands of years and continue to manage large parts of Australia through the careful use of fire.
  
  Strict cultural protocols around lighting fires were once common and today many of our partnerships with Aboriginal groups still maintain these protocols through the role of elders in determining where and when controlled burns are used."

South Australia

• CFS: Govornment of South Wales: Prescribed Burns "Prescribed burning is the controlled use of fire on a particular area of landscape. The aim is to strategically reduce fire fuel hazards on public and private land across South Australia."

Western Australia

• AFAC: National Prescribed Burning Network "AFAC collaborates with and supports member agencies in using fire in the landscape for bushfire mitigation, community safety, and ecological and land management purposes.
  
  The AFAC National Manager, Prescribed Burning Strategy, is based at the Bushfire Centre of Excellence in Western Australia under a partnership agreement with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, WA."

Maps

Europe

Portugal

• Portugal Wildfire Management in a New Era Assessing Fire Risks, Resources and Reforms (PDF) includes data and maps.

Oceana

Australia

• Patterns of Seasonal Fire Occurrence in Australia map on page 13 on this Guidebook PDF. Includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some smaller islands.

Western Australia

• Burn Options Program "These are the burn options available depending on weather factors and changing works program priorities."

• Today's Burns (interactive map) "Parks and Wildlife’s prescribed burning program protects lives, property and infrastructure from bushfires through a carefully planned regime of controlled burns."

Education, Training & Certification Opportunities

North America

Canada

• Introduction to Prescribed Fire in the Grassland Environment - Continuing Education | University of Saskatchewan (usask.ca) "The Introduction to Prescribed Fire in the Grassland Environment course, offered in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, provides participants with the understanding of basic principles for planning, conducting, and assessing a grassland prescribed fire. This course is delivered online and open for registration year round. It is entirely asynchronous and self-paced, meaning students can complete it on their own schedules.
  
  This course is open to all practitioners of prescribed fire, present or future, or those simply interested in learning more about its possible applications. Prescribed fire serves many purposes as a management tool – from conservation to maintaining rangeland health, and even public safety. As such, a wide variety of groups and demographics use it. The purpose of this course is to share awareness, and in addition to other training, ensure practitioners (crew members) in the grassland and parkland ecoregions can use fire in a safe, effective, and informed way.
  
  This course, in combination with an in-field component, serves as the minimum training requirement for participation on a prescribed fire by many CPPFE partner agencies."

Oregon

• Certified Burn Manager Program "In 2021, Legislators passed Senate Bill 762, requiring the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to develop a Certified Burn Manager (CBM) program. The overall goal of this program is to reduce barriers to prescribed fire in Oregon by increasing available resources on non-federal ODF protected lands through a prescribed fire leadership training and certification program. When landowners within ODF protection districts use a certified burn manager and follow the required burn plan it protects both from civil liability. ODF is seeking applications from individuals interested in becoming CBMs and training providers who have experience with the creation and delivery of wildland fire training to deliver content based upon a detailed CBM instructor guide and final exam provided by ODF.
  
  Initially, while training providers are entering into agreements with ODF and creating content in preparation for delivery based on ODF’s CBM instructor guide, only individuals with existing National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) qualifications as a Type 2 Burn Boss (RXB2) or documentation of prior experience leading burns are eligible to apply for historical recognition. For those with experience in prescribed fire seeking to gain knowledge, skills, and the abilities in leading burns, the certified burn manager course is expected to be made available by January 2024. Once the certified burn manager course has been completed, a field certification book will be issued by ODF to be submitted for certification as a burn manager." Click the link to apply.

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