Virtual summit aims to reduce threat of wildfires

University of Nevada, Reno Extension will be presenting a virtual summit aimed at helping communities adapt to the existence of wildfires.

Extension’s Living With Fire Program’s Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Summit will take place 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 3 with the theme of “Creating the Toolbox for a Fire Adapted Nevada.”

The summit will be presented via Zoom in partnership with Nevada Division of Forestry’s Fire Adapted Communities.

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

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.”

Workshops during the summit will include “Navigating Your Fire Adaptation Journey”, 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; and “Multiplying Wildfire Adaptation Efforts Through Neighborhood Volunteers”, presented by Rebecca Samulski, executive director of Fire Adapted Colorado.

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.