Seeing Fire Differently: The Next Era of Wildland Fire Monitoring

PANEL DISCUSSION: Thursday, February 18, 2027 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EST
 

Is wildland fire monitoring entering a new era? How might we monitor fire effects in places that either haven’t burned in a long time or are burning in ways that folks (and ecosystems) are unfamiliar with?
 

From prescribed fire to wildfires, advances in remote sensing, satellite technology, drones, artificial intelligence, and real-time data systems are providing new ways to observe fire behavior, smoke, fuels, and ecological effects across time and space. What tools and techniques stand the test of time? What new opportunities and technologies can help enhance the value and usefulness of monitoring?
 

This panel will explore how monitoring tools can strengthen decision-making before, during, and after fire. Panelists will discuss opportunities and challenges in applying new technologies to prescribed fire and wildfire operations, and how they can improve situational awareness, fire effects documentation, fire behavior evaluation, monitoring smoke and emissions, and translating data into information that is useful to fire managers and communities.
 

Ultimately, the next era of wildland fire monitoring is about more than collecting mere data—it is about seeing fire differently and turning observations into actionable knowledge. If you are interested in where fire monitoring is going and what it might be able to tell us about our future fires and landscapes, please join this panel conversation among managers and researchers working at the burning edge of this key aspect of fire management. Connecting technology and field experience to management needs can help us build monitoring approaches that support safer and more beneficial prescribed fire, more informed wildfire response, and better understanding of fire’s role in resilient landscapes.

This panel discussion has pending approval for 1.5 Category 1 CFE's by the Society of American Foresters.