US Forest Service: Partnering on education to reduce wildfire risk

Mar 31, 2023 08:12AM ● By Editor

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From the US Forest Service - March 30, 2023

Gathered around piles of cut and stacked balsam fir, 25 members of the surrounding forest communities participated on Saturday, March 18, 2023, in Ely, MN, in a pile burning workshop.

With plenty of snow on the ground still, Superior National Forest and Dovetail Partners offered the workshop to help landowners learn how to increase wildfire resiliency around their homes and properties. Superior fire staff instructed the group on basic wildfire behavior and how to remove and safely pile burn hazardous woody debris. The workshop began inside the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service office. Discussions covered general fire behavior, what hazardous fuels are and how they can increase fire behavior, and how to use Firewise practices to increase wildfire resiliency.

Dovetail Partners-Gloria Erickson describes why their group partnered with the USDA Forest Service for the workshop, “Wildfire resiliency, across multiple land ownerships, is crucial to protect people and help restore the ecosystem we live in. We all have a role to play. Private landowners are working hard to be more wildfire resilient by removing the hazardous woody debris from their properties. They need multiple, economical ways to dispose of that debris. Teaching how to SAFELY pile burn is one of those options.”

Facilitators stated workshop attendees were a range of ages and asked great questions. “We were really happy how engaged people were and how many attended despite the chilly weather. As federal land managers and firefighters we know that increased hazardous fuels on the landscape can increase risks in the event of a wildfire; however, it is important for us to educate landowners. Dead latter fuels like balsam fir, when ignited by a wildfire, can push the fire into the crown of the trees, increasing fire intensity. Working and educating people across boundary ownerships, such as this workshop did, helps reduce hazardous fuels landscape-wide. It is important for everyone that lives in a forest community to understand this and educate themselves”–Nicole Selmer, Fire Prevention Technician on the Superior National Forest.

“Conducting workshops like these helps to empower people to work together (across land ownership boundaries) to take care of the land and to be more resilient to wildfire. Private landowners need to be recognized for what they are doing, and we need to continue to provide them with the tools to do that”–Gloria Erickson, Dovetail Partners.