Experiencing System Outages
Please note: Due to storm impacts on systems at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, NC, certain maps and statistics on Drought.gov may be experiencing issues. We apologize for any inconvenience at this time. Read more.
NIDIS Drought and Wildfire Nexus (NDAWN) Fire Practitioner Workshops
Since 2015, the NIDIS Drought and Wildfire Nexus (NDAWN) has convened 8 regional and subregional workshops, presented to fire practitioners at 8 number of conferences, and interviewed 15 fire weather forecasters on the impacts of drought on wildfire planning, behavior, and post wildfire response. Below is a list of national and sub-regional workshops with the fire management community, along with a key takeaway from each.
2015 National Workshop: Boise, Idaho
NDAWN convened a national-level workshop on Drought and Wildfire in Boise, Idaho in 2015. A key outcome of this workshop was a need to better understand if/how drought impacts influence wildfire planning efforts, wildfire behavior, and post-wildfire recovery efforts at a sub-regional level. This lead to undertaking a series of small, one-day workshops across the U.S. The Boise workshop and the sub-regional workshops in 2017 formed the basis for the NDAWN Strategic Plan released in 2018. Sub-regional workshops will continue post COVID-19.
NDAWN Sub-Regional Workshops
- Reno, Nevada: 2017
- A key need is to understand fuel flammability in the context of extended and flash drought conditions in the Great Basin.
- Missoula, Montana: May 2017
- A key need is better communication with stakeholders and local landowners on when and how to communicate drought conditions and impacts.
- Redding, California: June 2017
- A key need is more field observations throughout the wildfire season.
- Vancouver, Washington: June 2017
- A key need is to answer: How actionable is drought information for the region? How much dry do you need?
-
- A key need is to develop a robust grass production index.
- Norman, Oklahoma: September 2019
- A key need is including mesonet weather into the national weather information management system framework.
- Salt Lake City, Utah: October 2019
- A key need is for an ontology for fuel/field observations and fire behavior that could be easily accessed for the region.
Additional sub-regional workshops were planned for Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, and Georgia, which were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These workshops will be rescheduled for a later date.