On May 2, Craig Clements will speak on “Improving Prediction of Extreme Wildfires And Their Behavior” at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church’s First Friday Forum at 1:30 p.m., located at 49 Knox Dr, Lafayette.
All of us in California are concerned about the growing threat of wildfires. The danger was clear in 1991 when the Oakland firestorm, a devastating urban-wildland fire, caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage and destroyed over 3,300 homes.
Last year Californians experienced the Pacific Palisades-Altadena fires which damaged over 12,000 homes and may cost over $30 billion.
Even if homes are not touched, many homeowners have seen huge increases in fire insurance premiums, if they can even get insurance. Also, many have experienced days of wildfire smoke which has become a source of air pollution and fine particles that can get into lungs and enter the bloodstream.
All of which means the May 2 First Friday Forum is as current as today’s headlines. Craig Clements, who teaches meteorology at San José State University and is the founder and director of the Fire Weather Research Laboratory will discuss “Improving Prediction of Extreme Wildfires And Their Behavior” at 1:30 p.m. at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (LOPC) sanctuary.
Clements will look at how wildfire science informs our understanding and prediction of wildfires, explaining how the frequency and intensity of fires involve a complex interplay of climate, topography, and vegetation. He will also describe how weather sensors help scientists learn about the structure of a wildfire, and how wildfires can become so powerful that they create their own weather.
He will also talk about how technology – such as sensor networks and aerial imaging – play an increasing role in detecting, predicting the spread of, and deploying resources to combat wildfires.
Clements’ research has been featured in PBS NOVA, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, CNN and Scientific American.
The talk is open to the community, and is simultaneously available online. To attend online, click “Watch” on the First Friday Forum webpage at lopc.org/first-friday-forum/. Registration is not required.
Mike Rusk can be reached at mikerusk@comcast.net.
