When Harry Gisborne, the Forest Service's first fire scientist, died investigating the Mann Gulch Fire in 1949, he became known as its '14th victim.' Through personal stories and historical accounts, we explore how the tragic fire that killed 13 firefighters led to the creation of the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab and revolutionized wildland fire research. Current and former lab leaders, Sara Brown and Colin Hardy, share how Mann Gulch's legacy continues to shape firefighter safety and fire science today. 

Related Research:

• Missoula Fire Lab Partners with Google Research to Help Advance New Fire Spread Model (2024)
• The Rothermel Fire Spread Model: A 50-Year Milestone in Fire Research (2023)
• Understanding Wildfire as a Dynamic System: A New Comprehensive Book on Wildland Fire Behavior (2023)
• Research Needs for Wildland Firefighter Entrapments (2020)
• Bridging the Divide Between Fire Safety Research and Fighting Fire Safely (2017)
• From Research to Policy: The White Cap Wilderness Fire Study (2014)
• The Missoula Fire Sciences Lab: A 50-Year Dedication to Understanding Wildlands and Fire (2012)
• Mann Gulch Fire: A Race That Couldn't Be Won (1993)
• The Gisborne Era of Forest Fire Research (1977)
• Harry Thomas Gisborne Oral History Project (1976)
• A Mathematical Model for Predicting Fire Spread in Wildland Fuels (1972)
• The Seeding of Cumulus Clouds by Ground-Based Silver Iodide Generators (1959) 

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

On a scorching August afternoon in 1949, a small fire in Montana's Mann Gulch turned catastrophic in just minutes. Through storyteller David Turner, experience this haunting tale that transformed wildland firefighting forever, and discover how this fire claimed the lives of 13 smokejumpers and sparked a revolution in fire safety and science. Join Forestcast as we travel to Helena, Montana to commemorate this monumental moment in Forest Service history, and find out how science is part of this story.

Related Research:

• The Thirteenth Fire
• The Legacy of the Mann Gulch Fire of 1949
• The 75th Anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire
• Staff Ride to the Mann Gulch Fire

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

How does research shape a Chief’s decisions about fire? Through personal stories and reflections, Chief Randy Moore shares how scientific discoveries have transformed our agency’s understanding of fire, and explains how research informs decision-making at the highest levels, the role of partnerships in advancing fire science, and the future of fire management across our landscapes.

Related Research:

• Confronting the Wildfire Crisis
• Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

Fire shapes landscapes and lives, but how do humans shape fire? By measuring wildfire ignition, mitigation, and recovery, as well as the wildland-urban interface—where houses meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland vegetation—scientists are uncovering the complex dynamics between wildfire and human behavior. 

Research social scientist, Miranda Mockrin, sheds light on the rapidly growing wildland-urban interface and the challenges it poses for fire management and community resilience. Research forester, Jeff Kline, delves into private landowners' behavior in central Oregon, and the surprising insights into their awareness of fire risks and the factors influencing their mitigation actions. Kline also investigates the various ways humans cause wildfires across the Pacific Northwest, and what can be done with that data.

Related Research:

• Changes to Rural Migration in the COVID-19 Pandemic (2024)
• Rising Wildfire Risk to Houses in the US, Especially in Grasslands and Shrublands (2023)
• The Global Wildland–Urban Interface (2023)
• Tale of Two Fires: Retreat and Rebound a Decade After Wildfires in California and South Carolina (2022)
• After the fire: Perceptions of Land Use Planning to Reduce Wildfire Risk in Eight Communities Across the United States (2020)
• Where Wildfires Destroy Buildings in the U.S. Relative to the WUI and National Fire Outreach Programs (2018)
• Sprawling & Diverse: The Changing U.S. Population and Implications for Public Lands in the 21st Century (2018)
• Rebuilding and New Housing Development After Wildfire (2015)
• Adapting to Wildfire: Rebuilding After Home Loss (2015)
• The Wildland Urban Interface Fire Problem (2008)
• Wildfire Strikes Home!: The Report of the National Wildland/Urban Fire Protection Conference (1987)
• The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on Human Wildfire Ignitions in the Pacific Northwest, USA (2023)
• Spatial Wildfire Occurrence Data for the United States, 1992-2020 (2022)
• Examining the Influence of Biophysical Conditions on Wildland-Urban Interface Homeowners' Wildfire Risk Mitigation Activities in Fire-Prone Landscapes (2017)
• A Conceptual Framework for Coupling the Biophysical and Social Dimensions of Wildfire to Improve Fireshed Planning and Risk Mitigation (2015) 

Scientists:

• Miranda Mockrin, Research Social Scientist, Baltimore, Maryland
• Jeff Kline, Research Forester, Corvallis, Oregon

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

Fire affects forests above and belowground. Travel along on a multiscale journey from forest-wide influences to molecular-level changes, unraveling the knowns and unknowns of fire effects on soil, vegetation, and carbon. 

Sharon Hood explains how fire affects tree mortality, tracing the pivotal role of carbohydrates in a tree's post-fire survival. Dexter Strother investigates the production and persistence of black carbon in soils, shedding light on its potential climate implications. Matt Dickinson shares innovative techniques for measuring belowground heat transfer during fires, and unveils the intricate effects on soil nutrients and microbial life.

Related Research:

• Long-term Efficacy of Fuel Reduction and Restoration Treatments in Northern Rockies Dry Forests (2024)
• Nonstructural Carbohydrates Explain Post-fire Tree Mortality and Recovery Patterns (2024)
• How Effective are Landscape Scale Fuel Treatments? (2023) 
• Understanding Post-fire Tree Mortality: Resources & Research 
• Lubrecht Fire-Fire Surrogate Study 
• Fire Exclusion Reduces A‐horizon Thickness in a Long‐term Prescribed Fire Experiment in Spodosols of Northern Florida, USA (2023) 
• Canopy-derived Fuels Drive Patterns of In-fire Energy Release and Understory Plant Mortality in a Longleaf Pine Sandhill in Northwest Florida, USA (2016) 
• Soil Heating in Fires: Process, Measurement, and Effects (2023)
• Soil Heating in Fire (SheFire): A Model and Measurement Method for Estimating Soil Heating and Effects During Wildland Fires (2022)
• Beyond "Fire Temperatures": Calibrating Thermocouple Probes and Modeling Their Response to Surface Fires in Hardwood Fuels (2008) 
• Temperature-Dependent Rate Models of Vascular Cambium Cell Mortality (2004)

Scientists:

• Sharon Hood, Research Ecologist, Missoula, Montana
• Dexter Strother, Research Ecologist, Athens, Georgia
• Matt Dickinson, Research Ecologist, Delaware, Ohio

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

From whipping winds that fan flames to swirling smoke that obscures visibility, fire weather is a complex phenomenon. In Episode 4 of "Afire," hear from three meteorologists at the intersection of the intricate relationships between fire weather, wind, and smoke. 

Brian Potter explains how large-scale atmospheric patterns, like extended dry periods before a wildfire, may contribute to the development of extreme fire events. Natalie Wagenbrenner discusses WindNinja, a high-resolution wind model that simulates local winds in complex terrain. And Scott Goodrick investigates the turbulent dynamics of small‑scale surface fires, as well as superfog—dense smoke-enhanced fog that can severely reduce visibility. 

Related Research:

• National Prescribed Fire Program Review (2022)
• Investigating the Turbulent Dynamics of Small-Scale Surface Fires (2022)
• Microscale Wind Modeling: WindNinja for Fire Management (2021)
• Downscaling Surface Wind Predictions from Numerical Weather Prediction Models in Complex Terrain with a Mass-Consistent Wind Model (2016)
• A Comparison of Three Approaches for Simulating Fine-Scale Surface Winds in Support of Wildland Fire Management (Part 1) (Part 2) (2014)
• Smoke 101 & Differences Between Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Smoke in the Western U.S. (2024)
• Fire Behaviour and Smoke Modelling: Model Improvement and Measurement Needs for Next-Generation Smoke Research and Forecasting Systems (2019)
• Laboratory and Numerical Modeling of the Formation of Superfog from Wildland Fires (2019)
• On the Formation and Persistence of Superfog in Woodland Smoke (2009)

Scientists:

• Brian Potter, Research Meteorologist, Seattle, Washington
• Natalie Wagenbrenner, Research Meteorologist, Missoula, Montana
• Scott Goodrick, Research Meteorologist, Athens, Georgia

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

Prescribed fire plays a vital role in creating healthy landscapes that better survive natural and human-caused disturbances, while reducing wildfire risk to communities, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. Episode 3 of "Afire" highlights three scientists and partnerships that are attempting to better understand and utilize prescribed fire.

From Georgia, ecologist Joe O’Brien explains how researchers and forest managers are forming unique meetings that spark fresh ideas and advancements in prescribed burning across the South. In California, forester David Weise begins research into the processes related to pyrolysis to better estimate how prescribed burning affects people. And, in Arkansas, forestry technician Virginia McDaniel recounts a decades-long story of prescribed fire fortifying an ecosystem and an endangered woodpecker.

Related Research:

• Prescribed Fire Science: The Case for a Refined Research Agenda (2020)
• Comparing Two Methods to Measure Oxidative Pyrolysis Gases in a Wind Tunnel and in Prescribed Burns (2022)
• Comparison of Pyrolysis of Live Wildland Fuels Heated by Radiation vs. Convection (2020)
• A Project to Measure and Model Pyrolysis to Improve Prediction of Prescribed Fire Behavior (2018)
• Particulate & Trace Gas Emissions from Prescribed Burns in Southeastern U.S. (2015)
• Diversity Explodes with Another Boring Burn with USDA Forest Service’s Virginia McDaniel (2023)
• Pine-Bluestem Literature Review (2013)
• Renewal of the Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Grass Ecosystem (2010)

Scientists:

• Joe O'Brien, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia
• David Weise, Research Forester, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside, California
• Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician, Southern Research Station, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at [email protected]

Indigenous tribes gained their unique understanding of fire, and the role of fire on the landscape, long before European settlers came to what is now called North America. Since then, the relationship between federal fire management and indigenous perspectives has often been one of misunderstanding and mistrust. On Episode 2 of "Afire," join Forest Service scientists, Frank Kanawha Lake, a tribal descendant, and Serra Hoagland, a tribal member, as they explain the ways in which Forest Service fire research is collaborating with tribes to jointly strive to better understand and manage fire.

Related Research:

• Partnering in Research About Land Management with Tribal Nations—Insights from the Pacific West (2023)
• Wildlife Stewardship on Tribal Lands (2023)
• Using Culturally Significant Birds to Guide the Timing of Prescribed Fires in the Klamath Siskiyou Bioregion (2023)
• Prescribed Fire Reduces Insect Infestation in Karuk and Yurok Acorn Resource Systems (2022)
• Getting More Fire on the Ground: Landscape-Scale Prescribed Burning Supported by Science (2022)
• Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Mexican Spotted Owl hHabitat in the Southwestern US (2022)
• An Assessment of American Indian Forestry Research, Information Needs, and Priorities (2022)
• Revitalized Karuk and Yurok Cultural Burning to Enhance California Hazelnut for Basketweaving in Northwestern California, USA (2021)
• Indigenous Fire Stewardship: Federal/Tribal Partnerships for Wildland Fire Research and Management (2021)
• The Importance of Indigenous Cultural Burning in Forested Regions of the Pacific West, USA (2021)
• Is Fire “For the Birds”? How Two Rare Species Influence Fire Management Across the US (2019)
• Indigenous Fire Stewardship (2019)
• Integration of Traditional and Western Knowledge in Forest Landscape Restoration (2018)
• Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Western Science for Optimal Natural Resource Management (2017)
• Tribal Lands Provide Forest Management Laboratory for Mainstream University Students (2017)

Scientists:

• Frank Kanawha Lake, Research Ecologist, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Arcata, California
• Serra Hoagland, National Program Lead for Tribal Research, Missoula, Montana

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at [email protected]

Fire is a form all of its own, but a simple way to understand fire is as a swarm. A swarm of bees. Or starlings. Or mosquitos. A spreading fire is a swarm of ignitions, a series of small fires over and over. 

Season 4 of Forestcast is a series of fires, a series of voices. It’s a 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes, and our lives.

Through kaleidoscoping voices from across the country, listeners will be taken inside the largest forest research organization in the world to hear from seventeen scientists on what they know, and don’t know, about one of the most complex elements in nature—fire.

In episode one, hear from research mechanical engineer, Sara McAllister, on the process of ignition; spatial fire analyst, Greg Dillon, on the timeline of fire management and research in the Forest Service; and research forester, Dan Dey, on the history of fire: where it was, where it’s been, and what can be done knowing its history?

Related Research:

• Understanding Wildfire as a Dynamic System: A New Comprehensive Book on Wildland Fire Behavior (2023)
• New In-flame Flammability Testing Method Applied to Monitor Seasonal Changes in Live Fuel(2023)
• The Wildfire Crisis Strategy: How it Started, How it’s Going, and How RMRS Science Contributes (2023)
• Prescribed Fire for Upland Oaks (2023)
• Fire in Eastern Oak Forests—A Primer (2022)
• The North American Tree-Ring Fire-Scar Network (2022)

Scientists:

• Sara McAllister, Research Mech. Engineer, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana
• Greg Dillon, Spatial Fire Analyst, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana
• Dan Dey, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Columbia, Missouri

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at [email protected]

This episode, we used the following archival recordings:

• The Fires of 1910 [National Wildfire Coordinating Group]
• Forest Service Officials Testify on Wildfire Management [C-SPAN]
• The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film [USDA Forest Service]
• 1950s Smokey the Bear P.S.A.s [USDA Forest Service]
• Suppression of Fires in Natl. Parks & Forests [C-SPAN]
• The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-07-27) [AAPB]
• The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-09-13) [AAPB]
• Harry Gisborne Oral History Project [U of Montana]
• Up In Flames: A History of Fire Fighting in the Forest [Forest History Society]
• Higgins Ridge [Montana PBS]
• Learning from the Experts: Richard Rothermel [Wildland Fire LLC]
• U.S. House of Representatives House Session (2009-03-26) [C-SPAN]
• The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (2000-08-07) [AAPB]
• Wildfire Crisis Strategy 2022 [USDA Forest Service]
• President Biden Signs Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill [C-SPAN]

Once spanning nearly 6 million acres in Missouri's Ozarks, the shortleaf pine and oak woodland ecosystem has dwindled to 100,000 acres today. Along with the loss of this habitat, a bird—the brown-headed nuthatch—disappeared as well. However, after decades of woodland restoration, the brown-headed nuthatch has returned to Missouri—by plane.

Over two summers in 2020 and 2021, a team of scientists successfully captured and flew 102 birds from Arkansas to Missouri, marking the bird’s return to the state after being locally extinct since 1907. Weighing in at a mere one-third of an ounce, approximately the combined weight of a nickel and a quarter, the return of the brown-headed nuthatch is nevertheless a weighty event.

Related Research:

• Effects of Pine-oak Woodland Restoration on Breeding Bird Densities in the Ozark-Ouachita Interior Highlands (2019)
• Site Occupancy of Brown-headed Nuthatches Varies with Habitat Restoration and Range-limit Context (2015)
• Resource Configuration and Abundance Affect Space use of a Cooperatively Breeding Resident Bird (2014)

Scientists:

• Frank Thompson, Research Wildlife Biologist, Northern Research Station, Columbia, Missouri
• Jody Eberly, Wildlife Biologist/Fire Mgmt. Officer (Retired), Mark Twain National Forest, Rolla, Missouri
• Angelina Trombley, Wildlife Biologist, Mark Twain National Forest, Doniphan, Missouri

We used the following recordings from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: ML180391131 (Milton Hobbs, Georgia, USA), ML225986 (Bob McGuire, Florida, USA) & ML unknown (Andrew Spencer, Florida, USA)

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-special-episode-flying-nuthatch-home

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: [email protected]