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Webinars and Courses

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Forecasting for Fire Weather North of 60°: Challenges, Tips, Tricks, and Stories from Years in the North

with Mike Smith (Chief Meteorologist with Yukon Wildland Fire Management)

Friday, April 11, 2025

9:30-10:30 a.m. MDT / 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT

Have you ever wondered what it is like to forecast fire weather north of 60°? Little cell coverage, few roads and people, a lot of moose, and weeks without a sunset. If you're familiar with the Red Book and the FWI system, you'll recognize that this violates some of the assumptions. Come to hear about challenges and tips and tricks to forecasting north of 60, and stay for the stories about fibre cuts, calculating drought codes in permafrost, and why we don't base crews in Dawson City any more! Mike began his wildland fire career in 2000 with the AB Rapattack program. After six seasons, he returned to school in pursuit of an MSc in Atmospheric Science followed by a PhD in Avalanche Mechanics (convenient excuse to ski every day). Since 2010, Mike has worked in the Yukon, as a meteorologist, occasional incident commander, and frequent duty officer.

[Rescheduled] February Flare Up Session 2: Fire Intelligence - Supporting Wildland Fire Suppression, Restoration, and Prevention by Advancing Analysis Tools

with Daan Aerts (Wildflyer, the Netherlands)

Friday, May 2, 2025

9:30-10:30 a.m. MDT / 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT

Wildfire analysis is increasingly recognized as a critical tool for effective wildfire management across Europe. However, access to high-quality data and advanced analysis remains prohibitively expensive, often because countries have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to data collection, integration, and reporting. Daan will share how they are building a wildfire analysis platform designed to remove these barriers. By providing accessible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions, Wildflyer aims to empower wildfire managers with the tools they need—without the high costs and technical complexity that have traditionally limited adoption. Join us as we explore how better access to data can lead to smarter, faster, and more coordinated wildfire response across Europe.

Wildfire Risk in Stswecem’c Xget’tem Territory: Settler-Colonial Barriers and Stswecem’c Xget’tem Solutions

with Ashley Camille and Georgina Preston (former University of British Columbia MSc student and current Community Outreach and Implementation Specialist for Yukon Wildland Fire)

Friday, May 9, 2025

9:30-10:30 a.m. MDT / 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT

Indigenous lands in interior British Columbia (BC), Canada are being impacted by increasingly large, fast-moving, high-severity wildfires due to climate change and an increase in vegetation (fuels) resulting from two centuries of settler-colonial land management. Despite disruptions from settler-colonial laws and policies, Stswecem'c Xget'tem First Nation (SXFN) has stewarded their Traditional Territory in south-central BC since time immemorial, including through frequent application of surface fire. SXFN communities have been repeatedly threatened by wildfires throughout the last two decades, inspiring SXFN to partner with the University of British Columbia in 2021 to quantify crown fire risk in their wildland-urban interface and explore forest stewardship solutions. We quantified fuel loads and potential fire behaviour in unceded dry SXFN forests with BC government legal objectives for mule deer winter range (MDWR) and old growth management (OGMA), then explored wildfire mitigation options through simulated fuel treatments. This research explores how legal objectives for MDWR and OGMA impact the ability of SXFN to implement wildfire risk mitigation, climate change adaptation, and ecocultural restoration within the forests of their Traditional Territory. It gives examples of work currently happening in the Territory and perspectives from the Nation on its importance. Above all, the research advocates for Indigenous sovereignty, especially as it pertains to land stewardship that aims to make Indigenous communities and the lands that surround them better prepared for wildfires. Georgina Preston (she/her) is a white settler who currently lives in Kaska Traditional Territory in the Yukon. Georgina recently completed her MSc in Forest Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Her research was in partnership with Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation, who she has worked for and with since 2018. Georgina is passionate about preparing rural communities to better co-exist with wildfires. Georgina is grateful to continue this work with Yukon Wildland Fire through helping with the development of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan for her small community of Watson Lake.

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