FirEUrisk

First FirEUrisk Pilot Site Demonstration Event in Barcelona, Spain
2023-06-07 08:30 - 15:30 (Europe/Helsinki)
The project’s first Pilot Site Demonstration Event takes place in Barcelona, Spain on June the 7th to present the wildfire prevention resources tested in one of the five pilot sites, covering the Mediterranean fire risk conditions. This demonstration event is hosted by the Diputació de Barcelona, and will also be streamed online.
The event is structured in the following four panels where experts from the project partners will present the outcomes of their research:

Weather and ignitions
Fuels, propagation, population and assets
Exposure, potential losses and resilience
Risk reduction and end-user needs

You can find the detailed agenda here.
You can register for the event for free here until the 31st of May. The link to the live transmission will be sent to the registrants prior to the event. For participants joining in person, the address is:
Passeig Vall d’Hebron 171,
Recinte Mundet,
primera planta del Pavelló Migjorn, Bloc A
(entrance via carrer Harmonia, accés sud)
Barcelona, Spain

Workshop on wildfire management innovation and policies at RISE-SD 2023 event
2023-05-30 00:00 - 16:30 (Europe/Moscow)
Banner: RISE-SD 2023
FirEUrisk will take part in the RISE-SD 2023 event that will address research and innovation in the field of disaster and crisis management, protection and security. The event, which will be held in Rhodes, Greece between the 29th and 31st of May, will feature the “Workshop on wildfire management innovation and policies”, where FirEUrisk, among other European projects, presents its approach towards a better wildfire risk assessment.
The workshop will take place the 30th of May at 12h EEST, and will be structured as follows:

Panel 1. Holistic approach and integrated management of landscapes wildfires
Panel 2. National wildfire prevention Action plan (including a peer-review framework)
Panel 3. Science and Technology contribution to improving wildfire management operations

The purpose of this event is to combine different approaches towards innovation on wildfire management, as well as review current policies and practices, and explore the possibilities for improvement.
You can find more information and registration options here.

Strategies towards wildfire risk management: the Greek experience
2023-05-08 10:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
The Fireurisk project is hosting a series of webinars to disseminate information about the structure of wildfire management organizations in various EU countries. The objective is to connect the project with the operational community across Europe and understand the abilities and challenges perceived by end users. An upcoming webinar on 2023, May 8th will focus on Greece’s wildfire management system, featuring presentations from key operational organizations. Representatives from the Forest Service of the Ministry of Environment, the Hellenic Fire Service, the General Secretariat of Civil Protection, and the Regional Administration Authorities will be in attendance to share information about their roles in forest fire management. The webinar is scheduled to take place from 10:00-13:30 CET. Tune in to the event via this link.

Preliminary outcomes on wildfire risk management, citizen engagement and policy review in Europe
2023-04-26 10:00 - 13:30 (Europe/Helsinki)
In this webinar, three European projects come together to share knowledge and collaborate between each other to improve fire risk reduction. After some years of research, FireLINKS, PyroLife (ITN) and FirEUrisk present their preliminary outcomes on their wildfire risk management research, including perspectives on citizen engagement and policy review.
The following researchers will be presenting the outcomes of each project:
FireLINKS

Stefan Doerr from Swansea University.
Jesús Rodrigo Comino from the University of Granada.

PyroLife ITN

Judith Kirshner from the European University Cyprus.
Pooja Pandey from the European University Cyprus.

FirEUrisk

Kiki Yuniati from SAFE Cluster.
Ramona Valea from the Istituto di Sociologia Internazionale di Gorizia.
George Eftychidis from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki.

FirEUrisk 5th Plenary meeting “From strategy to action: Towards better wildfire risk management”
2023-03-27 - 2023-03-29
Our project consortium will gather in the city of Lleida, Spain for the 5th Plenary Meeting between March the 27th and 29th. The meeting will provide our project partners with the opportunity to exchange information and assess the progress towards better European wildfire management. The aim is to cover all relevant aspects of the FirEUrisk approach during the 3-day gathering and share valuable updates on our multi-perspective take on fire risk.
We look forward to productive and engaging discussions, and to advancing our collective goal of reducing wildfire risk in Europe. Stay tuned for updates on our progress through our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

Webinar: Perspectives on landscape management to reduce wildfire risk
2023-03-14 11:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
In this webinar, organised on March 14th at 11-14 a.m. CET, three European projects working on wildfire risk management come together to exchange knowledge regarding fire risk reduction. Researchers from the LIFE RESILIENT FORESTS, VESPRA and FirEUrisk projects present different perspectives related to landscape and vulnerability management. The presentation titles are:

“Coupling water, fire and climate resilience with biomass production from forestry to adapt watersheds to climate change” by María González Sanchis, Technical University of Valencia (UPV)
“Planning and response operations to wildfires, floods and industrial accidents based on the vulnerability” by Luis Torres, Meteogrid and Miguel Almeida, ADAI
“Addressing fire risk through land management: Exploring opportunities and trade-offs in Europe through spatial analysis and land-use modelling” by Alex Neidermeier, Institute for Environmental Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Register for the free event here

Training event: Mapping the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
2023-02-22 10:30 - 12:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
The Wildland Urban Areas (WUI) where human settlements border with patches of flammable vegetation make up interfaces exposed to high wildland fire risk. In the past two decades, considerable effort has been made in identifying these high-risk locations, following different mapping approaches and concepts. In this webinar, hosted by Prof. Avi Bar-Massada from the University of Haifa, Israel, attendees will learn the current state-of-the-art in WUI mapping, discussing the rationale behind different mapping approaches, the pros-and-cons of each strategy and its data requirements. Participants will view an example of mapping the WUI in a single demonstration region and acquire knowledge to create WUI maps for their region of interest, so that they can contribute to better fire management and policies aimed at reducing fire risk to human lives and property.
This training will take place on February the 22nd and is intended for graduate and PhD students, researchers, and other actors involved in wildfire risk management. For more information you can check the details on the training agenda. If you’re interested in attending, please complete the registration form. The deadline closes on February the 16th.

Webinar on the Spanish strategy of fire risk assessment, reduction and adaptation
2023-02-20 10:30 - 12:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
Understanding each country’s situation will help us to see the big picture of Europe’s approach to wildfire prevention and mitigation. This webinar will focus on Spain and its different strategies on fire risk management, both at a national as well as regional level, with concrete examples of success.
For this event, we will have the opportunity to listen to three experts in the field, followed by an open discussion on the topics:

“Wildland fires management at the national level” by Ángela Iglesias Rodrigo, Manager of the Wildland Fire Management National Service, Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Rural Development.
“Forest fire management in Castilla y León” by Álvaro Picardo, Technical Advisor to the General Direction in Natural Heritage and Forest Policy of the regional government of Castilla y León.
“Fire prevention and preparedness in the highly-urbanised region of Madrid” by José Ramón Peribáñez, Chief of the forest fire brigades of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

The webinar is open to everyone and will take place on February the 20th (10h CET). The roundtable will be moderated by FirEUrisk’s Scientific Coordinator, Professor Emilio Chuvieco from the University of Alcalá, and FirEUrisk Coordinator, Professor Domingos X. Viegas from the University of Coimbra.
Link to the session will be sent to the registrants of the webinar. Register for free here.

Training event: The FirEUrisk fuel classification system and the European fuel map
2023-02-02 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
Accurate and spatially explicit information on forest fuels is essential for designing integrated fire risk management strategies, as fuel characteristics are critical for fire danger estimation, fire propagation, and emissions modelling. The first FirEUrisk training, delivered by Elena Aragoneses from the University of Alcalá, Spain, will give an overview of the project’s new fuel classification system, providing attendees with the knowledge and tools necessary to use it and explore the related European fuel map to assess fire risk in Europe. Data access and tools to analyse the dataset, along with examples of potential usage, will also be presented to help attendees adapt the FirEUrisk classification system to different spatial scales and different purposes.
This training will take place on February the 2nd (10h-12h CET) and is intended for graduate and PhD students, researchers, and other actors involved in wildfire risk management. For detailed information you can check the training agenda. And if you’re interested in attending, please complete the registration form. The deadline closes on January the 26th.

FirEUrisk 4th Plenary Meeting and Symposium “Forest Fires in Central Europe”
2022-10-10 - 2022-10-12
Our project consortium will gather once more, at our 4th plenary meeting between October 10th and 11th in the vibrant city of Dresden, Germany. After a summer of unprecedented forest fires all over Europe, we’ll get together to assess our progress and share valuable updates.
On the 12th we will gather for a Symposium with leading European fire experts, to exchange data and insights into the new reality of forest fires in Central Europe. For the first time, we’ll connect with fire researchers, forestry experts, and fire brigades, to share our project’s technological development towards assessment, mitigation, and adaptation to fire risks. If you’re interested in attending, please send an email to christopher.marrs@tu-dresden.de to register for the event.
We are looking forward to meeting all the partners and participants, both online and in person. Stay tuned for updates from our social media channels!

Presentation of FirEUrisk at Terraenvision 2022
2022-06-27 - 2022-07-01
Our partners from GMV presented FirEUrisk at the Terraenvision conference in Utretcht, The Netherlands, during the session “NH1: FirEurisk: paradigm shifts in fire management” on the 28th of June. Our project was also featured in the events’ poster sessions.

Wildfire Risk Management Project Clustering Event
2022-04-05 - 2022-04-06
This online event brings together 8 European projects – FirEUrisk included – working amongst wildfire risk management to discuss possibilities for cooperation, ensure coherence and complementarity between their demonstration activities and harmonise their communication activities.

One year on: Outcomes and Outlook for the future
2022-03-30 - 2022-04-01
Project partners, end-users and collaborating wildfire-related initiatives will gather at our hybrid annual plenary meeting between March 30th and April 1st in the beautiful city of Coimbra, Portugal to cover all relevant aspects of our project´s wildfire management strategy. Stay tuned for updates from our social media channels!

Fire and Crisis Management – Cooperation between FirEUrisk and Respond-A
2022-03-21 10:30 - 12:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
An open event where partners from our project and from Respond-A came together to explore avenues for collaboration and provide holistic solutions for wildfire management and first responders’ safety and health.

An Integrated Program of Wildfire Risk Management – The Case of Portugal
2022-03-16 10:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
After the very violent fires of 2107 which caused 116 fatalities in Portugal, the country reacted proposing an extensive set of reforms that included the creation of a coordinating agency, modifications in several government agencies, detailed definition of the role of the various stakeholders, including the citizens, and the launching of an operative programme with several sectoral and transverse actions to prepare better the country for future events. This webinar promotes a reflection on the case of Portugal, to understand the philosophy of the proposed changes, their implementation and to have an assessment on their effectiveness, five years after the fires of 2017.

Webinar on Major fire events of 2021 in the Mediterranean Basin
2021-12-02 10:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
2021 was marked by numerous large wildfires around the Mediterranean, which burned hundreds of thousand hectares of land, claimed the life of several citizens and damaged a great number of infrastructures, including residential houses. In the FirEUrisk project, there are several ongoing studies concerning the more significant of these fires that occurred in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. In this webinar, material and results out of these studies were presented, giving greater emphasis to the fire episodes with direct impact on the wildland urban interface. The ultimate goal of these studies is to extract lessons from those tragic events, in order to provide learning opportunities that can prevent future tragedies in similar situations.

Webinar on future fire scenarios and biodiversity
2021-09-29 10:00 (Europe/Helsinki)
In this event moderated by FirEUrisk coordinator Domingos Viegas, Thomas Hickler from the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University presents an overview of the status and trends in biodiversity as well as major drivers of biodiversity change globally and in Europe, while exploring interactions between climate change, fire and biodiversity in different biomes. He also presents plans to simulate vegetation and fire dynamics in FirEUrisk, and discusses how the models can support policy and stakeholders. Kirsten Thonicke from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research gives an overview of recent findings on future changes in fire along with a summary of fire-enabled dynamic global vegetation models commenting on how research on climate impacts is standardised with climate and land-use scenarios to drive the model simulations and to analyse the multisectorial impacts.
