Registrations are OPEN for the Wildland Fire Canada Conference and Canadian Smoke Forum 2026.
#WFCC26 is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from 19-23 October 2026.
#WFCC26 will bring together wildland fire management agencies, Indigenous knowledge holders and experts, scientists, partners, and collaborators from across Canada and around the world.
This biennial conference focuses on wildland fire management, science and knowledge-sharing.
Don’t forget to choose a Workshop and a Field Trip.
• 11 Workshops – with most over half a day.
• 3 Field Trips – including one overnight.
The full program is ready!
The last WFCC was in 2024 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The first was in 2010 in Kitchener, Ontario.
The theme for 2026 is Connecting Operations, Research and Community Action.
WFCC26 is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from 19-23 October 2026.
Socially vulnerable groups are significantly over-represented in high wildfire-risk areas across the United States and should be prioritized for targeted mitigation measures, research has found.
A study in the International Journal of Wildland Fire identified census tracts across the US where high wildfire risk and high social vulnerability intersect – and found that American Indian/Alaska Native communities, Hispanic/Latino residents, and mobile home residents are disproportionately concentrated in these areas.
Most of these tracts are located in less populated areas of western and southern states, and concentrated mainly in California, Texas, and Florida.
Exploring the spatial association between wildfire risk and social vulnerability in continental US, International Journal of Wildland Fire.
With nearly 21 million people living in these high-risk, high-vulnerability zones, this research has implications for wildfire mitigation and disaster preparedness, particularly for communities that have historically been underserved.
This is not the first study to make the connection – lead author Professor Jayajit Chakraborty from the University of California, Santa Barbara, explains that we have known for a while that vulnerable communities bear a disproportionate burden from wildfires.
“What we are doing differently is asking where exactly does this happen and using rigorous spatial statistics to answer that,” said Prof Chakraborty.
The study overlaid a number of databases and analytical tools to get the result – mainly, the bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Associations (LISA), and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) that was developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to map areas of vulnerability for public health and emergency planners.
The use of LISA at a national scale provided spatial precision. “Previous studies have documented the relationship but had not really pinned down the specific neighborhoods where high wildfire risk and high social vulnerability coincide spatially. That’s the gap we were trying to fill”
So, what does a more precise approach for these communities actually look like? It really depends on the community, Prof Chakraborty says.
“For Indigenous communities, for example, it’s not just about dropping fire mitigation resources in – it’s about meaningful consultation, respecting tribal governance, and supporting things like culturally grounded prescribed burn programs that many tribes have practiced for generations.
“For Hispanic communities, a lot of it comes down to language access and trust issues. Evacuation notices that only exist in English, or disaster relief programs that exclude undocumented residents – these are fixable barriers.
“For mobile home residents, the needs are more physical – these homes are genuinely more fire-vulnerable, and their residents often don’t have the financial resources to make improvements on their own, so you are looking at approaches like subsidized retrofitting or community-level preparedness programs.
“The broader point here is that the High–High tracts identified in this study essentially provide a spatial targeting layer — agencies and decisionmakers can overlay this map with existing program boundaries identify gaps and prioritize investments in overburdened communities.
But how do we explain the LA fires of 2025 that burnt into some of the most expensive real estate in the country?
“The rich can be exposed to wildfire, but they are not socially vulnerable to it in the same way. The findings from our IJWF article show it is American Indian, Hispanic, and mobile home communities – disproportionately in rural western and southern areas – who face the combined burden of high risk and low adaptive capacity,” said Prof Chakraborty.
“The LA fires were a high-visibility event in an economically affluent area; the communities our research identifies face similar or greater physical risk with far fewer resources to prepare, respond, or recover.”
We are at Interschutz 2026 in Hanover, Germany all this week: 1-6 June 2026.
IAWF Vice President Ciaran Nugent is hosting a small display outdoors in the Wildfire Camp with a small group of colleagues.
IAWF at Interschutz 2026, Hanover Germany
For the first time in its 70-year history the large Interschutz fire and rescue services trade fair in Germany features a zone dedicated to wildfire and it is great for the IAWF to be a part of it.
Wildfire Camp will display around 20 companies and other organizations on early detection, prevention and suppression of wildfires. While small in relation to the rest of the trade fair, the arrival of Wildfire Camp signals a growing acceptance of wildland fire as an essential part of overall fire management planning and resourcing in Europe.
The Interschutz fire and rescue services trade fair is huge – around 1750 exhibitors from 55 countries are in Hannover from 1-6 June 2026. The exhibition space fill nine halls plus outdoor displays and in the past has attracted up to 150,000 visitors.
Wildfire Camp is the work of four main players – Bosch Building Technologies, the European Forest Institute (EFI), @fire, and IMBOS e.V, bringing together science, emergency responders, and technology providers.
The International Association of Wildland Fire is hosting a stand in the Wildfire Camp that will also include CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Airbus, Drager, Husqvarna, OroraTech, Vallfirest, Waterax and others.
Reflecting the desire to not just promote hardware and other services, the Wildfire Camp has a strong emphasis on understanding wildfire in a European context and learning from international experts. In addition to the outdoor demos there is a program of expert presentations and panel discussions into operational strategies, early detection technologies, prevention measures by the European Forest Institute.
Dr Xinyan Huang, Assoc Prof Hong Kong Polytechnic University
This award honours Associate Editors who have demonstrated sustained excellence in their responsiveness, thoroughness, and timeliness.
Dr Huang has served as an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Wildland Fire (IJWF) since 2021. He is an Associate Professor at the Dept of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is the Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Smart Urban Resilience and Firefighting. He received his PhD from Imperial College London.
CSIRO Publishing produces IJWF on behalf of the International Association of Wildland Fire.
Congratulations to Vaea Lefeuvre for the winning Poster at our 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels conference this week in Hobart, Tasmania.
The judges chose Vaea’s poster for its design and message simplicity on green fire breaks in New Caledonia “Linking Functional Traits to Shoot Flammability”.
The winner poster at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.
The 93 posters on display made it our biggest exhibition. It was inspiring for the 465 delegates to view what fire research and operations are happening beyond the 174 oral talks at the conference.
The popular People’s Choice award went to Aiden Gappin and Grant Reibel from the Country Fire Service on tackling South Australia’s Bushfire Threat.
Highly honourable mentions went to Adam Leavesley and team ACT Parks and Fenner with a poster on fires in the ACT Orroral Valley, and to Mia Callaway Fenner on 3D mapping of fuel moisture.
Congratulations to all our winners at #FBF2026 and thank you to AFAC for sponsoring the poster display.
Congratulations Kelsey Tarabini – the recipient of the 2026 Early Career Award in Fire Operations
Kelsey, a Bushfire Risk Analyst with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action in Victoria, Australia, was presented with her award by IAWF President Trevor Howard and IAWF Director Sarah Harris at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels conference in Hobart today.
Kelsey’s experience spans fuel management, emergency intelligence, and nationally coordinated research with practitioners and academics.
She contributes operationally as a firefighter and through incident management teams in fire behaviour, mapping, and intelligence roles. Kelsey has served with the South Australian Country Fire Service as a volunteer firefighter and continues service with the Victorian Country Fire Authority. She is also a member of the Australian Army Reserves and former Board member of Women and Firefighting Australasia.
Kelsey represents an emerging generation of fire practitioners integrating science, risk modelling and frontline experience
This award recognizes a promising early-career professional who has demonstrated outstanding ability in any field of wildland fire operations.
With many significant wildfire events across the United Kingdom in recent years the scale and impact of these events are increasingly straining the ability to prepare and respond. With that in mind, the 2026 UK Wildfire Conference has launched with the theme New Perspectives, Shared Solutions.
The 2026 UK Wildfire Conference is from 10-11 November at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. The website has details on how to participate as a delegate, a speaker, a poster presenter or as a sponsor. The deadline is 24 April 2026 for speaker submissions.
Photo above. The devastating effects of wildfire on Dava Moor in the Scottish Highlands 2025 is a scene that is becoming more frequent across the UK. Credit The Heather Trust.
Professor Gareth Clay, Chair of the 2026 Wildfire Conference Steering Group, explained why this event will appeal to a wide audience:
“The conference will appeal to anyone who has an interest in UK wildfires, how we can learn from international examples and how lessons from the UK can be applied elsewhere. We welcome attendance from across sectors from those who currently work on wildfires, or who are looking to expand their activities and knowledge of wildfire – which is an increasing threat to both rural and urban communities and landscapes. You may be a conference regular, or this may be your first time – all are welcome.”
Delegates will hear from experts about the latest research and innovations in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, and have the opportunity to discuss with colleagues, ways to enhance working together.
Event hosts – the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF) – are keen to encourage collaborative thinking and promote cross-sector planning and preparedness. “The conference will be a showcase for the whole UK wildfire community,” said Prof Clay. “We hope that all delegates leave the event with a greater understanding of the latest research and practice and an increased awareness of opportunities to share knowledge across different sectors.”
The conference is being organised by The Heather Trust charity on behalf of EWWF.
Wildfire is published quarterly for the greater global wildland fire community and for members of the International Association of Wildland Fire. The magazine serves as a storytelling and network building platform, exemplifying our role as a unique supporter and unifier of fire professionals across the globe.
This biennial conference focuses on wildland fire management, science and knowledge sharing with the latest research, technology and practices. The last WFCC was in 2024 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The first was in 2010 in Kitchener, Ontario.
The theme for 2026 is Connecting Operations, Research and Community Action.
Get involved. Contribute. Participate. 👩🦱As a Presenter – share your work, your experience, your knowledge. 👨👨👧 As a Workshop host – create a forum to exchange ideas and knowledge. 🚒As a Sponsor or Exhibitor 🚁 – show your support and get access and exposure to the decision makers.
Submit presentation and workshop proposals by March 30, 2026.
WFCC26 is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from 19-23 October 2026.
The four day program for the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels conference in Hobart, Tasmania, in April, is now online.
Following on from the success of the 2024 conference in three cities across three countries – Canberra/Australia, Tralee/Ireland and Boise/US – the 2026 conference will be held only in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 28 April to 1 May 2026.
After an overwhelming response to the Call for Presentations, conferences organisers have sorted through the abstracts to settle on a full program for the week. It includes a three-day conference schedule of keynote speakers, panel sessions and topical presentations over four streams.
Here are the three keynote speakers:
Amanda McKenzie – CEO of the Climate Council
Prof David Bowman – Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Director of the Fire Centre at the University of Tasmania
Robb Clifton – Director Field and Traverse Operations at the Australian Antarctic Division
A fourth day offers the choice of four workshops and three field trips to get a deeper understanding of the application of the science to fire behaviour and fuels management.
Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are still available at a range of levels.
