Communities learn ways to reduce wildfire threat at virtual summit

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LAS VEGAS  – University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Living With Fire Program presents the Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Summit. This year’s theme is “Creating the Toolbox for a Fire Adapted Nevada.” The summit, presented via Zoom in partnership with Nevada Division of Forestry’s Fire Adapted Communities, will take place 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Dec. 3.

“During the virtual summit, we will be giving people tools to better adapt their communities to survive a wildfire,” Christina Restaino, Living With Fire Program director, said. “The workshops are designed to give community leaders, concerned public and agency professionals guidance on how to increase fire adaptation.”

The Hogan Fire burned over 10,000 acres in 2018. The Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Summit will present ways to prepare communities for wildfire risk. Photo courtesy of Nevada Bureau of Land Management.

Highlights of the summit include opening remarks by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and keynote speaker Jack Cohen, a research physical scientist retired from the U.S. Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. Cohen, who has done extensive research on how structures ignite in extreme wildfire behavior, will present “Framing the Problem of Community Destruction During Extreme Wildfires.”

Session topics include:

  • Welcome and Agenda Review, presented by Christina Restaino, assistant professor and director of the Living With Fire Program.
  • Opening Remarks, presented by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
  • Introducing Fire Adapted Nevada, presented by Marc Titus, Nevada Division of Forestry staff specialist with Fire Adapted     Communities.
  • Workshop: Navigating Your Fire Adaptation Journey: How to combine tools and resources from national partners to support your work, presented by Michelle Medley-Daniel, director of the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network; Jenn Dietz, program manager for Ready, Set, Go!; and  Megan Fitzgerald-McGowan, program manager for Firewise USA.
  • Multiplying Wildfire Adaptation Efforts Through Neighborhood Volunteers, presented by Rebecca Samulski, executive director of Fire Adapted Colorado.
  • Closing Remarks, from Restaino.

There is no cost to attend the summit, but space is limited. Preregister online by Dec. 2 at the Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Summit registration page, bit.ly/FireAdaptedNevadaSummit2020. For more information about the summit or the Living With Fire Program, email Restaino at restainoc@unr.edu.