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Firefighter jobs difficult to find for women fire crew after prison

Catie Cheshire Sinead Hickey Miles Green

January 12, 2021 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

Arizona's Inmate Wildfire Program trains incarcerated people to fight wildfires, paying them low prison wages to provide a critically needed service as wildfires grow more common. Members of the only all-female crew, from Perryville Prison, tell of their pride of accomplishment in doing a dangerous job, and of the rehabilitative benefits of the program. They also describe their frustrations when regulations often bar them from using their skills after release from prison.

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Prescribed burns and wildfire in Santa Cruz County

Stephen Baxter

December 21, 2020 |

Santa Cruz Local |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Santa Cruz, California

The number of prescribed burn associations in California is on the rise, advocating for more controlled fires that could prevent larger wildfires. There are at least 13 in the Golden State with the latest being the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association. Their mission is to help private landowners through the complex process of organizing a prescribed burn and to educate them about the effectiveness and limitations of the technique. So far, they’ve had 125 who are interested in getting involved and they received a grant of more than $300,000 from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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An Indigenous practice may be key to preventing wildfires

Charles Mann

December 17, 2020 |

National Geographic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Indigenous Peoples Burn Network, is a collaboration of Native nations, academic researchers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that advocate for and train fire-lighters in the indigenous practices of controlled forest burns. Under careful supervision, fire-lighters spread lines of fire beneath trees to create fuel-free areas and protect old growth trees from burning. Controlled burns preserve resources that are part of Native cultures, encourage and protect wildlife and biodiversity, and decrease the frequency of largescale, out-of-control forest fires.

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Cities Want Green Spaces. Here's How to Make Them More Fire-Resistant

Marianne Dhenin

November 06, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ashland, Oregon

A 20-year project by the nonprofit Lomakatsi Restoration Project to restore native plants helped to spare Ashland, Ore., from the worst destruction of a wildfire. Along the Bear Creek greenway in Ashland, the restoration project's work to replace dense thickets of invasive Himalayan blackberries with native shrubs and trees is credited with slowing the speed and severity of the Almeda Fire. Traditional firebreaks and the greenway at other points on the creek failed to slow the fire, and in some ways even sped its destruction.

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A Lesson in Learning to Live With Fire, and Each Other

Laura Bliss

November 05, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Shaver Lake, California

A collaboration between former adversaries over forest management and preservation in the Sierra National Forest led to a $9 million investment into making 154,000 acres healthier, and able to withstand destruction in one of the largest wildfires in California history. The Creek Fire largely spared land in the Dinkey Landscape Restoration Project, despite severe damage in hundreds of thousands of adjacent acres. Years of strategic tree-thinning and intentionally set small fires proved effective.

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How AI Can Help Save Forests

Ted Alcorn

November 03, 2020 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden

Satellite-based forest monitoring, paired with other sophisticated measures of a forest's health, is transforming the speed, precision, and economics of finding and eradicating infestations and pinpointing acreage where preventing wildfires and deforestation will prove most effective. Rather than rely on ground-based, manual surveys of vast tracts, forest managers are refining their ability to observe more useful data from space. As success stories pile up, however, the science still must rely on the political will to enact needed policies for a healthier climate and forests.

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Election Season Is Wildfire Season. These Voters Lost Everything.

Julia Thomas

October 29, 2020 |

The New Republic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Rule changes in counties impacted by wildfires have made it easier for displaced residents to vote in the 2020 presidential election by using their temporary residence, shelter, a P.O. box, or their county election office to receive a ballot. Social media campaigns inform residents about their voting options, in addition to wildfire responses, and thousands of people have changed the address where they want to receive their ballot. The number of registered voters also increased by tens of thousands in many counties.

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Colville, Washington Survived the Timber Wars. Now It's Tackling Wildfire

Jake Bullinger

October 23, 2020 |

Bitterroot |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colville, Washington

A collective of timber companies, conservationists, and forestry professionals has made the adjacent national forest more resilient to wildfires by focusing on small-diameter trees while preserving old growth. In 2019, the Northeast Washington Forest Coalition allowed for the harvesting of 87.1 million board-feet from the forest and 16,561 acres underwent controlled burns and mechanical thinning to mitigate the risk of wildfires. The group’s record of compromise and innovation could offer a blueprint for other areas looking to boost the resilience of fire-prone forests and rural economies.

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Prescribed Burn Associations Are One Answer to California's Megafires

Colleen Hagerty

October 19, 2020 |

Sierra Club |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Prescribed burns are fires set intentionally to reduce the fuel that can make wildfires so large and damaging. Despite the science favoring this approach for healthy ecosystems and fire prevention, government use of the strategy has remained small and stagnant. Local prescribed burn associations (PBAs) have filled some of the gap, educating and training landowners to conduct small-scale burns. PBAs cannot come close to filling the entire need. But they have prevented some disasters while returning fire management to local control, and to ancient native practices before fire suppression became the norm.

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Ex-logger leads firefighters defending Indonesia's peatlands

Harry Jacques

October 14, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Rawa Mekar Jaya, Riau

An Indonesian government program called Masyarakat Peduli Api, or “Fire Care Community,” aims to improve community responses to wildfires and restore peatlands — valuable ecosystems that store carbon. Through community engagement and education, this volunteer fire brigade patrols the peatlands and addresses small fires before they spread. The program remains underfunded, but residents recognize the importance of their work.

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