Missoula, MT, USA. The beginning of October (in the Southern Hemisphere) and the beginning of May (Northern Hemisphere) signals the start of wildland fire season in many locales. As such the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) launches a Global Wildfire Awareness Week this October 1-7, 2012, following on our prior Awareness Week in the Northern Hemisphere, from May 1-7 2012.
The 2012 Wildfire Awareness focuses on “Sharing Our Tools” and urges all to share the themes and strategies used globally to foster wildfire awareness and prevention. The 2012 theme highlights on-going work by the IAWF to link firefighters, researchers, government officials and those residents, business owners and recreationists facing possible wildland fire impacts for improved communications and sharing of research and techniques.
“I encourage people to use our www.wildfireworld.org and www.IAWFonline.org websites to see what’s happening in wildland fire around the world and to add your voice to the discussion,” said IAWF Executive Director Mikel Robinson. “We encourage people to share successes, community descriptions as well as links on the site to better tell the growing story of wildfire around the world.” Both sites are an expanding resources for conveying wildland fire information showcasing tools that make a difference.
In April the IAWF hosted the Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire conference in Seattle, WA, with presentations and discussions focused on lessons learned from recent fires in Canada, Australia, Spain, Ecuador, Mexico and the United States; all countries facing remarkably similar wildfire challenges. Presenters explored effective ways for communities to improve conditions, ways for firefighters to communicate and operate more safely and ways agencies can positively engage with those impacted by wildland fires.
In October, IAWF will present the International Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Sydney, Australia, and 2013 plans include the 4th Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference in North Carolina and St.Petersburg, Russia.
The IAWF, a nonprofit, 501(c) (3) professional association, represents members of the global wildland fire community and is uniquely positioned as an independent organization whose membership includes experts in all aspects of wildland fire management. IAWF’s independence and breadth of global membership expertise allows it to offer a neutral forum for the consideration of important, at times controversial, wildland fire issues. IAWF produces Wildfire magazine, the International Journal of Wildland Fire, and FireNet as well as www.iawfonline.org and www.wildfireworld.org
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Global Wildfire Awareness Week: Proclamation (October 2012)
