A dry spring, warm temperatures and high winds have officials preparing for an early start to the 2008 California wildfire season. The following UC Davis faculty members have expertise regarding wildfire chemistry, monitoring, suppression and recovery. Also listed are University of California wildfire-prevention resources for property owners.

DURING AND AFTER FIRES

Fire and forest ecology

Malcolm North, a UC Davis associate professor of forest ecology, specializes in the study of ecosystem response to wildfire and thinning, particularly in the extensive mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada. Following a burn or thinning, he analyzes changes in ecosystem function, structure and composition, particularly changes in vegetation and forest structure, microclimates, soil moisture, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. North has also conducted research on the role of Sierra forests in global climate change. Forests are a potential source or sink for carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Scientists and foresters are trying to understand how to best manage the forests' carbon stock in fire-prone forests such as the Sierra Nevada. Recent research suggests global warming may already be associated with earlier starts of the annual fire season. (North's primary employer is the U.S. Forest Service, where he is a research scientist in plant ecology.) Contact: Malcolm North, Plant Sciences, (530) 754-7398, mnorth@ucdavis.edu.

Wildfires, air pollution and health effects

Michael Kleeman, UC Davis professor of civil and environmental engineering, studies urban and regional air-quality problems in the Los Angeles area and in the Central Valley. He has studied emissions from wood-burning fireplaces, which produce emissions similar to those from forest fires. He is especially interested in the size and composition of atmospheric particles and in gas-to-particle conversion processes. These issues are important because research has found that airborne particles with diameters less than 2.5 microns cause adverse health effects, and the size and composition of particles found in the atmosphere determines much of the haze in large cities. Contact: Michael Kleeman, Civil and Environmental Engineering, (530) 752-8386, mjkleeman@ucdavis.edu.

Nanoparticles, combustion and air pollution

Ian Kennedy, a UC Davis professor of mechanical engineering, studies how very small particles of metal and carbon (soot) -- measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter -- are formed within flames. These nanoparticles, which contribute to air pollution and may be hazardous to human health, come from burning wood, oil and coal in processes such as welding and from diesel engines. In wildfires, minerals in soil can become processed into nanoparticles as well as comparatively large ash particles. Contact: Ian Kennedy, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, (530) 752-2796, imkennedy@ucdavis.edu.

BEFORE FIRES

Wildfires and organizational behavior

Organizational sociologist Tom Beamish studies how organizations and institutions deal with disasters. Beamish, an associate professor of sociology, can talk about how formal organizations -- governmental, commercial and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) -- respond to human-induced disasters. He says that many of what appear to be naturally occurring disasters are, in reality, the result of long-term problems actively ignored or simply not seen by the organizations charged with protecting the public. These organizations are generally reactive by nature. Being proactive requires making difficult choices over funding and priorities, choosing among the risks, and overcoming a basic inertia that is inherent in formal, bureaucratic organizations. Beamish wrote "Silent Spill: The Organization of an Industrial Crisis" (2002). He received a 2003 Hazards Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Contact: Tom Beamish, Sociology, (530) 754-6897, tdbeamish@ucdavis.edu.

Predicting fires from models

The frequency of major forest fires can be predicted using relatively simple mathematical models based on the frequency of much smaller fires, according to Donald Turcotte, a professor of geology at UC Davis. Earthquakes, floods, landslides and fires all depend on "self-organized criticality" -- an accumulation of small changes that cause an abrupt change in the state of a system. For example, patches of new growth in a forest gradually form larger and larger areas of fuel that can cause a major wildfire. One implication of the model is that large fires are more likely to occur when fuel is allowed to build up because small fires are suppressed. Contact: Donald Turcotte, Geology, (530) 752-6808, turcotte@geology.ucdavis.edu.

Thinning wildlands

Bruce Hartsough, professor and chair of biological and agricultural engineering at UC Davis, has worked with the U.S. Forest Service and private industry on projects to manage wildlands for both fire management and better wood utilization. When people encroach on forested land, vegetation should be thinned near houses, especially smaller trees and shrubs and vegetation close to the ground. Thinning and/or prescribed burns (purposely set fires) are also needed in less-developed forests. Reducing the amount of fuel reduces the intensity and rate of spread of wildfires, he says. Contact: Bruce Hartsough, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, (530) 752-0103, brhartsough@ucdavis.edu.

Fire to heal wildlands

The large-scale suppression of wildfires during the past century has led to a massive buildup of fuel in the nation's wildlands in the form of shrubs, small trees and natural debris. Fires now tend to burn hot and high into the trees, rather than just along the forest floor. They not only burn branches and scar trunks but also kill most of the trees. Michael Barbour, an ecologist with the UC Davis Tahoe Research Group, recommends that purposely set fires known as prescribed burns be used as one of a suite of management tools in the forests surrounding California's renowned Lake Tahoe. Set on calm days when the moisture content is high enough to slow the spread of flames, such fires will burn smaller trees, brush and forest litter, and prevent catastrophic fires. Prescribed burns, coupled with thinning to remove some otherwise burnable biomass, should help foster the survival of the most mature trees and eventually restore the forests to old-growth status. Contact: Michael Barbour, (530) 752-2956, mgbarbour@ucdavis.edu.

Rescuing horses from the fire

Advance preparation could mean the difference between life and death for horses caught in the path of a fire. Veterinarian John Madigan, a UC Davis authority on equine and emergency veterinary medicine, urges horse owners to first clear brush at least 30 feet from barns and corrals. Trucks and trailers should be kept nearby and operational in case animals need to be evacuated, and an alternate exit by foot should be mapped out in case roads are blocked by fire. Stalls and doors should be closed after evacuation to prevent fire-panicked horses from running back inside. A community-based emergency evacuation plan for horses is essential. Horse owner groups should work with local animal control and fire departments to develop a plan and a list of horse hauling resources and sites to take horses to safety rapidly. A practice drill should be conducted early in the fire season. A veterinarian should examine any horse burned or exposed to heavy smoke, and owners should not apply any topical treatments to burns. Photographs and written descriptions of all horses should be kept in a bank safe-deposit box to help identify animals that become lost or separated during a fire. Contact: John Madigan, office (530) 752-6513, or the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (530) 752-0290, jemadigan@ucdavis.edu.

VIDEOS AND PUBLICATIONS

A number of wildfire prevention and recovery publications and videos are available from the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. For more information, see http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu.

• "Landscaping Tips to Help Defend Your Home from Wildfire" -- Pamphlet, 2008. You can have both a beautiful landscape and a defensible fire-safe zone (minimum 100 feet) around your rural home. Get the basics, plus helpful Internet links and a 3-part poster, in this publication. Free, downloadable file. Publication number 8322. http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/Items/8322.aspx.
• "A Property Owner's Guide to Reducing Wildfire Threat" -- Pamphlet. Management of vegetation adjacent to homes is discussed, as well as recommendations on defensible space for different areas. Publication number 21539 (or in Spanish ("Una guía para los propietarios de terrenos sobre cómo reducir los riesgos de incendio"), number 21545), $1.50.
• "How Can We Live With Wildland Fire?" -- Pamphlet. Living with fire is part of living in the West. What role does fire play in the natural cycle and what choices can we make about coping with wildland fire? This pamphlet is an excellent tool to prompt community discussion. Publication number 21582, $8.
• "Wildland Fire: How Can We Live With It?" -- DVD. This program contains general information about wildland fire in California and defines three general choices for how communities can cope with wildland fire problems. This videotape is designed to stimulate public discussion and community action planning. Publication number 6574D, $20. Note: Both pamphlet and DVD ordered as a set are Publication number 21582A, $27.50.
• "Recovering From Wildfire: A Guide for California's Forest Landowners" -- Pamphlet. Discusses issues that small forest landowners should consider following a wildfire in their forest. It includes information on how to protect property from erosion damage, where to go for help and financial assistance, tax implications of fire losses, how to manage salvage harvesting and how to help the forest recover. Publication number 21603, $5.
• "Managing California's Wildfire Danger" -- DVD. This 7-minute video discusses steps that can be taken to reduce the threat of wildfire in California's forests and woodlands. Publication number 6523D, $10.