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September 23, 2020
The fires that broke out and spread across nearly 1 million acres of western Oregon this month are terrifying and devastating. We know from forest research and history that western Oregon's forest ecosystems naturally burn. But a century of fire suppression, logging, development, and climate change, combined with weather conditions that drove the fires into rural and suburban communities, led to this seemingly unprecedented event. As the smoke (hopefully) clears and we all take stock of these fires' impacts to our communities and land, join us for a discussion with fire experts about these contributing factors and how we might prepare for a more fire-prone future.
Featuring panelists Timothy Ingalsbee, PhD, Executive Director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology; Erica Fleishman, PhD, Director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University; and Ken Carloni, PhD, Botanist/Forest Ecologist.
*This webcast is NOT meant to comprehensively address the MANY issues surrounding the current fires - from forest management and policy, to community preparedness and adaptation, to fire ecology. Additional webcasts on these additional topics will be planned in the future.
We will be raffling off a copy of Oregon's Ancient Forests: A Hiking Guide, a solar USB charger, and Oregon Wild hat. Raffle tickets are $5 and are an optional purchase below. Winners will be contacted after the event.