When
The 2020 Fire Season in Context: Was it a Disaster?
Crystal Kolden
Assistant Professor
University of California, Merced
Abstract: The 2020 fire season was characterized by both broken records and extreme events, consistent with recent trends in fire activity globally resulting from anthropogenic climate change. Globally, fires burned with greater intensity and longer duration across several fire-dominated regions, including in parts of the US. Notable fires also occurred in places where it is infrequent, surprising many. But was 2020 truly a wildfire disaster? Answering this question requires getting beyond the media hype and our illogical obsession with fire size. Here, I characterize the 2020 US fire season across a range of qualitative and quantitative attributes in order to characterize both the short-term and potential long-term impacts. I also suggest a theoretical framework for wildfire researchers seeking to change the culture of communication, disengage with disaster narratives, and improve scientific understanding of fire drivers and impacts.
Biography: Dr. Crystal Kolden is an Assistant Professor in the Management of Complex Systems Department within the School of Engineering at UC Merced and her Ph.D. is in Geography from Clark University. Dr. Kolden's research focuses on characterizing and understanding wildfire intersections with the human-environment system through geospatial, temporal, and mixed-methods approaches. You can find more about Dr. Kolden's research at her website: http://www.pyrogeographer.com/
Friday, February 19th, 2021 at 3:30pm
For Zoom link, email Amanda Percy