International Association of Wildland Fire

We are excited to announce that the IAWF is hosting the 17th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit and the 7th Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, from October 20-23, 2025. This is a fantastic opportunity for professionals in the wildland fire community to gather, share insights, and discuss advancements in fire safety and human dimensions related to wildland fire management. Additionally, we are pleased to offer a post-conference field trip to Banff National Park from October 24-25, 2025. This will be a great chance to explore the beauty of the Canadian Rockies while connecting with fellow attendees. Mark your calendars for this important event and stay tuned for more details regarding registration and agenda.

Please join the Emergency Services Sector Management Team at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for a webinar TOMORROW from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. EST, Maui Wildfires and Next Steps. This webinar will promote awareness of the Maui, Hawaii, wildfires that took place in August 2023. In addition, speakers will highlight various tools and programs that emergency services personnel can use to mitigate their risks for wildland fires in the future. Participants will learn about: The after-action review process of the Maui Fire Department, the multiple challenges they faced, and lessons learned. The Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the wildfires and challenges during response and recovery. An overview of the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center as an interagency wildland fire learning organization, its history, philosophical roots, and available products. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s hazard mitigation grant programs and upcoming opportunities. REGISTER HERE: https://lnkd.in/gvjcUCdG

At the start of 2024 the wildfire community gathered on three continents to discuss what really keeps us awake at night with fuel, fire and smoke. In Boise, Tralee and Canberra we started to map a clearer path to living and working with fire. In Boise we met close to the snowcapped Rocky Mountains. In Tralee it rained. In Canberra, the nation’s capital, we looked up to Parliament House. What do you remember from the 7th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels conference? Wildfire magazine has picked out highlights - what were yours? #FBF2024 https://ow.ly/8FA950UaBTF

If you found the 85 page State of the Wildfires 23-24 report hard to swallow here is an easier to digest summary from research scientist Hamish Clarke on what it means to burn 400 million hectares in one year. Is that a lot? How many football fields is that?? And who is doing the measuring? Nice work Hamish.

As the incidence of mega fires intensifies across the Iberian Peninsula and around the world, experts in fire operations and research say it’s critical to acknowledge the precursors of extreme wildland fires and understand what fuels the severity and scale of these large phenomena. From Spain for Wildfire magazine, Lily Mayers argues that a lack of land management is making the Iberian Peninsula ripe for larger fires. https://ow.ly/npBx50UaBZw

As a wildland fire responder, are you prepared for wildfire season, and not just physically but emotionally and mentally? In her regular Wildfire magazine column, Bequi Livingston offers some tips on how to be fully prepared and be fully fire-fit. https://ow.ly/eLq850UaBx7

As Brad Pietruszka, Dave Calkin, Matt Thompson, and Stephen Fillmore write in Wildfire magazine - A call to action, Rethinking strategy in wildfire response - the concept of strategy is often misunderstood and misapplied in wildland fire. The authors from Rocky Mountain Research Station propose a new definition of wildfire strategy focused on the best balance of risk to lives, communities and landscapes. https://ow.ly/JLIt50UaClj

Mentor or mentee? Which one are you? The deadline for our Mentoring Program is 6 December. We have lots of great students and early career professionals interested and welcome more, but we need more mentors with experience and networks in the wildland fire world. Is that where you best fit? We will match a mentor with a mentee based on interests and location. Find out more: https://ow.ly/Ofhn50U9Hua

We're at the UK Wildfire Conference in Aberdeen, stop by our table to say hello to board members Ciaran and Vivien.

The best of 2024 were recognised last night at an awards ceremony at the Wildland Fire Canada Conference dinner. IAWF President Kelly Martin presented the prestigious Firebreak Award to Rusell Myers Ross who is leading the fire program in his Yunesit'in community in British Columbia. The Early Career Awards in Fire Operations jointly went to Oscar Jared Diaz Carrillo, head of the Experimental Forestry Areas of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo in Mexico, and Natasha Broznitsky, acting Senior Research Officer for the BC Wildfire Service, who accepted her award remotely. Congratulations to these inspirational winners and the other winners of the 2024 IAWF Awards. See the IAWF website awards page for all their details. And to finish the colourful evening? A rousing set by local band The Hello Crows.