• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

CNPS East Bay

  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Members Meetings
    • Field Trips
    • Donate
    • Membership in CNPS
    • Restoration Projects
    • Stay Connected
  • Gardening
  • Conservation & Science
    • Conservation Committee
    • East Bay Rare Plants
    • Plants of the East Bay
    • Database of Rare and Unusual Plants
    • Research Grants Program
  • Publications
    • Bay Leaf Archives
    • News Archive
    • Guidebook to Botanical Priority Protection Areas
    • Annotated checklist of the East Bay Flora
    • Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Officers & Committees
    • Press

January 26, 2022

Wildfire in California Landscapes

Wednesday, January 26, 2022 — 7:30 pm

Speaker: Jim Bishop

Bear Fire in the Plumas National Forest on September 8, 2020, beginning its big run. Photo by Russ Fowler.

The behavior of wildfires is determined by the “fire environment”: terrain, fuels, and weather. It can vary from smoldering to raging, from benign to destructive. Understanding how wildfires behave is basic to understanding fire control, fire effects, the beneficial use of fire, and the nature of threats to property such as homes. Fire behavior is a key to understanding and addressing the “fire problem.”

This overview will introduce you to how the fire environment affects fire behavior—the key roles of humidity, fuel type, seasonal drying, slope, and wind. We’ll consider typical fire rates-of-spread, firebrands, how fire will respond to changing conditions, and some common fire-weather processes. We’ll take a look at the role of fire behavior in such things as presumed “natural” fire, fire’s effects on fuel levels, current fire regimes, and structure loss. What factors contribute to large fires? The program will include photos from recent major fires in the Sierra.

About the Speaker

Jim Bishop retired from a career in Cal Fire, much of which was spent in wildland fire control and training. He is trained as a Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN) and has filled that position on major fires and prescribed burns, has taught in several national fire-behavior courses, has served on the FBAN national steering committee, and has developed materials used in those courses. He developed and taught a simplified method for applying the standard fire-behavior model for use by firefighters on the fire line.

Results of a hot crown burn from the 2000 Storrie Fire in the Lassen National Forest. Photo by Jim Bishop.

Next Month’s Program

February 23, 7:30 pm (online presentation)
Vernal Pool Ecology and Conservation
Carol Witham, botanist, environmental consultant, and educator

Our CNPS East Bay speaker programs will be presented as online meetings until it is once again safe to gather in person. If you have questions, contact Sue at programs@ebcnps.org.

Primary Sidebar

Some of our past speakers were recorded and can be seen on our YouTube channel.

Past Speakers:

Meet Jun Bando, Our New Statewide CNPS Executive Director (January 25, 2023)

Saging the World (September 28, 2022)

Distribution and Ecology of Vernal Pools (February 23, 2022)


See all ...

Subscribe to our newsletter

Upcoming Events:

April 1, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Garber Park Stewards Restoration (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 10, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Marin CNPS Meeting (Zoom): Creating a Bee, Butterfly and Bird Restaurant and Building Community Along the Way (On-line Lecture)
April 13, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Redbud CNPS Meeting (Zoom): Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change – A 25-Year Journey (On-line Lecture)
April 15, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Garber Park Stewards Restoration (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 15, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Bringing Back the Natives Tour: Online version (Garden Tour)
April 16, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 22, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Garber Park Stewards Restoration – Earth Day ! (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 29, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Albany Hill Restoration Project (Albany) (Restoration Project)

Join CNPS

Footer

  • FacebookFacebook
  • InstagramInstagram
  • MeetupMeetup
  • YouTubeYouTube

Copyright © 2023 California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter — CNPS Privacy Policy