International Association of Wildland Fire

New editorial from our International Journal of Wildland Fire.

The stresses that wildfire personnel are put under every fire season has quickly moved from the margins of fire research to the mainstream.

An editorial in the International Journal of Wildland Fire says that sustaining the wildfire workforce will require the same mindset applied to other infrastructure: "...plan early, manage actively, support recovery, and learn systematically, season after season."

Read more in Wildfire Today:
https://wildfiretoday.com/wildland-firefighter-health-should-be-treated-as-fire-infrastructure-urges-emerging-research-focus/

Photo: USDA Forest Service

Get ready for the Wildland Fire Canada Conference and Canadian Smoke Forum 2026. 🔥🌲🚒

is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from 19-23 October 2026.

Our list of sponsors and exhibitors is growing but there is still time to join us at this important wildfire event. Our supporters play an essential role in making this event happen and we thank each and every one of them. 🙂

This support enables us to secure high calibre speakers, keep registration fees low and attract the participation of a wide range of people from within and from outside of the sector.

Join us in Saskatoon and get access and exposure to the decision makers in wildfire.

‼️ Coming very, very soon – full program, open registrations.

wildlandfirecanada.com

Diamond 🔷
Conair Aerial Firefighting
Nova Software

Platinum 🔶
WATERAX

Silver 🔹
Flaman Group of Companies

Bronze 🔸
CCI Inc.
Tempest Technology Corporation

Exhibitors 🎪
AEM
Boeing
Campbell Scientific
Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment
Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange
Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program
Electrogas Monitors
Fire Truck In A Box
Forsite
Garmin
Kisters
Kuri Tec
Mercedes Textiles
MWG Canada
Perimeter Solutions
Royal Roads University
Thompson Rivers University
Trans Care Rescue
Transitional Solutions
Veseris
Yukon First Nations Wildfire

Elsa Pastor is a Full Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). For more than 20 years, she has specialised in safety and risk analysis, with a strong focus on wildfire risk assessment in the wildland–urban interface (WUI). She has led numerous research and innovation projects in both the public and private sectors, developing methodologies for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and community preparedness.

Dr. Pastor has coordinated several European projects funded by the European Commission’s DG-ECHO, including WUIVIEW (2019–2021), WUITIPS (2023–2025), and FIREPRIME (2024–2026). Her work has contributed to advancing wildfire resilience strategies and civil protection approaches across Europe.

She has authored 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers, contributed to more than 100 international conferences, co-authored 10 specialised books, and supervised 10 doctoral theses, contributing significantly to research and education in fire safety and wildfire risk analysis.

See Elsa at : UK Wildfire Conference this November.
https://ukwildfireconference.co.uk/attend

Don't miss any event announcements by signing up for our newsletter:
https://ukwildfireconference.co.uk/ -newsletter

Europe has boosted its wildfire preparations ahead of a forecasted busy 2026 season by pre-deploying its largest force yet of firefighters, aircraft and other experts across the continent.

https://wildfiretoday.com/europe-preps-for-a-wild-wildfire-summer/

Photo: Romanian and French firefighters in France, European Commission

More faces and action from the Wildfire Camp at this week in Hanover, Germany. 🚒🔥🧑‍🚒

IAWF Vice President Ciaran Nugent is hosting an IAWF display outdoors in the exhibition zone.

This is the first time Interschutz has dedicated such an area to Wildfire services and innovations as part of the event.

📍 Wildfire Camp – Stand D90
📍 INTERSCHUTZ 2026

Deutsche Messe AFAC News

All this week we are at in Hanover, Germany. 🚒🔥🧑‍🚒

IAWF Vice President Ciaran Nugent is hosting a small display outdoors in the Wildfire Camp with a small group of colleagues.

This is the first time Interschutz has dedicated such an area to Wildfire services and innovations and it is great to be a part of it.

If you are there - drop by and say hello!

Deutsche Messe AFAC News

Researchers have quantified the economic good of prescribed burning.

A study in the journal Science analyzed U.S. Forest Service data from 285 wildfires that intersected with prescribed burning and other fuel treatments across 11 western states from 2017 to 2023 to measure how much damage was averted due to the treatments.

They found that prescribed burning, along with other forest fuel treatments, avoided the staggering costs of large and severe wildfires. Each dollar invested yielded $3.73 in expected benefits.


https://wildfiretoday.com/save-the-environment-and-the-economy-with-prescribed-burning-researchers-say/

Portugal will host a great range of international keynote speakers later this year at this conference. The IAWF is again a sponsor of this event, which includes a research stream and a safety summit.

Announcing the Keynote Lineup for the 10th ICFFR & 19th IWFSS!

We are honored to unveil the Keynote Lecturers for the 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭, selected following a global nomination process and a vote by our Scientific Committee.
This year’s speakers bring a multidisciplinary perspective to the most urgent challenges in wildfire science—from the fundamental physics of fire behavior to the critical role of Indigenous leadership and the latest in remote sensing technology.

Join us in welcoming:
- Prof. Domingos Xavier Viegas (University of Coimbra)
- Prof. Marta Yebra (The Australian National University)
- Prof. Sally Archibald (University of the Witwatersrand)
- Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson (Indigenous Leadership Initiative)
- Dr. Matt Jolly (US Forest Service)
- Dr. Imma Oliveras Menor (Research Institute for Development)
- Prof. Dominique MORVAN (Aix-Marseille University)

Read the full abstracts and speaker bios here: https://events.adai.pt/en/10th-icffr/keynotes

For the first time in its 70-year history the large INTERSCHUTZ fire and rescue services trade fair in Germany will feature a zone dedicated to wildfire.

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.

Bosch Home European Forest Institute (EFI) Atfire - Internationaler Katastrophenschutz International Association of Wildland Fire CAL FIRE Airbus Dräger Husqvarna OroraTech Vallfirest WATERAX

Read more on the Wildfire Camp at Interschutz 2026:
https://wildfiretoday.com/wildfire-camp-sets-up-in-germany/

Photo: Dirk Meussling

Two dedicated wildfire students now have IAWF scholarships to add to their already impressive list of achievements.

The 2026 scholarship recipients are:
Mayowa George is a PhD researcher at Kansas State University in wildfire prevention, prescribed burning management, fire danger modelling and environmental sustainability, with a focus on grassland ecosystems in the Great Plains of North America.
Henry (Harry) Gilson is an environmental scientist at the University of Cape Town and a wildland firefighter in the fire prone Western Cape of South Africa.

But there’s so much more to both. Read their full story here:
https://ow.ly/u4Fk50YXWGG

The IAWF awards two graduate level scholarships every year to IAWF members studying in the field of wildfire.

Congratulations to our 2026 scholars!