New article on use of weather and climate products in wildland fire decision-making in the US Southwest

In the Southwest, wildfires are a persistent threat. Credit: Southwest Wildfire Science Consortium

The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS), a NOAA Climate Program Office Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP) team, recently published an article titled, “How Are Weather and Climate Products and Decision Support Systems Used in Wildland Fire Decision-Making in the U.S. Southwest?” In the U.S. Southwest, the convergence of climate change, past wildland fire policy, and an expanding wildland–urban interface have increased pressure on wildland fire managers to use science-based information to improve management outcomes. However, CLIMAS researchers acknowledge that wildland fire management is a challenging environment in which to utilize scientific information. In this study, researchers aimed to understand how weather and climate information and decision support systems (DSSs) are perceived and used by the Southwest wildland fire management community.