2022 IAWF AWARDS
2022 IAWF Early Career Award in Fire Science
Adrian Cardil Forradellas
Adrián Cardil is a graduate in forest engineering with honors (BS and MSc Extraordinary Award) from the University of Lleida, where he received a PhD in 2015 (Excellent Cum Laude; PhD Extraordinary Award).
Since then, Cardil has carried out his research in national and international research groups through stays in Canada, the United States, Chile, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy, establishing a broad network of international collaborators.
Cardil is a prominent fire and forest scientist who has developed: (1) remote sensing methods for forest management (Airborne and GEDI Lidar, hyperspectral imagery from drones and satellites, satellite active fire data); (2) innovative fire behavior models and applications to better estimate the impact of wildfires on human fatalities and the environment; (3) analysis of adverse weather patterns and drivers leading to extreme wildfires in several continents and regions (Amazon, California, Europe).
The scientific impact of the research can be scored by the large number of articles published in SCI journals (57) as well as the quality and the number of times these articles have been cited.
Cardil has been determined to grow capabilities that can meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated and complex environmental paradigm through his research activities. He has translated science to operational tools and services to the industry to facilitate decision making in fire emergencies through robust fire modeling applications based on remote sensing techniques applied in a large set of world-class fire agencies in the Americas and Europe, including CAL FIRE.
Cardil has participated in several international projects founded by public entities – the PI of Tecnosylva in two of them (ITN EU Pyrolife 860787 > 3M€, member of the supervisory board; EU FIRE-RES 21.5M€, work package leader, member of the project management team).
2022 IAWF Firebreak Award – Excellence in Fire Management
Brian Schaffler
Brian Schaffler is the regional fuels program manager for the Eastern Region of the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region (Region 9)
Schaffler has a lengthy, extensive, and well-balanced fire career in both prescribed fire and fire suppression.
Schaffler’s nominator referred to him as a fire management evangelist, because of his outreach efforts in shared stewardship to promote the benefits of and cross-jurisdictional approach to successful fire management.
Schaffler uses all the tools available to expand the opportunity for fire to function as an essential ecosystem process on the broadest landscape possible, which speaks to his problem-solving skills. His leadership has enabled the Eastern Region of the Forest Service to expand its hazardous fuels program accomplishments from 80,000 acres in 2017 to 252,000 acres in 2021.
2022 IAWF Wildland Fire Safety Award
Scott Jones
Assistant Chief Scott Jones retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) in 2005 after decades of dedicated service.
Prior to his employment with LACoFD, Jones served as a firefighter with the US Forest Service (USFS).
The LACoFD is the largest local government employer of firefighters in California and the western United States, and an all-hazards fire agency that responds to hundreds of thousands of emergencies each year.
As a full-time career firefighter, Jones had a reputation for excelling in all areas. However, based on his early employment with the USFS and his passion for wildland firefighting, he became a well-known subject-matter expert in wildland fire fighting, particularly in the wildland urban interface.
Jones retired as the assistant chief of the Air & Wildland Division at LACoFD. The Air & Wildland Division is made up of dozens of handcrews, several bulldozers, and the most robust local government helicopter and aviation section in service then and today.
Jones served on multiple local, state, and federal wildland fire committees. He was key in development and adoption of many of the policies and operational procedures in use today. It’s not a surprise that even though Jones retired in 2005, he has remained engaged in the area of wildland fire. Understanding the value of Jones’ experience and his talent for teaching/instructing, he was asked to work as a “retired annuitant” for LACoFD since his retirement and has trained hundreds of firefighters and supervisors in wildland fire operations and procedures, including fire aviation.
