The Science of Wildfires—Listen to a USGS Podcast on how Science is Applied to this Natural Hazard

Reston, Va. - USGS wildfire expert Erik Berg discussed wildfire science in a CoreCast, or USGS podcast, available on the CoreCast Web Site (http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/USGS) .
Science plays a role in wildfire management before, during and after fires begin, said Berg. And though fires in Southern California have recently grabbed the nation’s attention, communities across the country have reason to be concerned and take precautions.

“Really, nobody is exempt,” said Berg. “Virtually everything that we find in our communities is in the wildland-urban interface. That’s the place where both wildland fuels and residences and communities get together. And virtually everybody is affected by the wildland-urban interface.”

Berg discussed the potential concerns after the fire is out, as well: Burned areas can be vulnerable to debris flows, or landslides, and invasive vegetation can force native species out, among other issues.

He also suggests several publicly available online wildfire resources that anyone can use to track fires and get other information.

CoreCasts can be subscribed to and automatically downloaded to computers and portable media players (such as an iPod®). They offer engaging, friendly and easy-to-understand science information in the form of interviews with USGS scientists and other reports and narrations on USGS science that can be listened to whenever convenient.