Join us for the California Forest Science Symposium (CFSS) in Sacramento, CA on February 18th – 20th, 2026. This joint event—organized by the California Society of American Foresters, California Fire Science Consortium, California Forest Pest Council, and UCANR Cooperative Extension —will spotlight the latest science and practical applications driving forest management across California.
The purpose of this symposium is to once again convene air quality, fire professionals, health scientists, and smoke specialists from the research community, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local/state/federal government agencies and tribes to discuss the state-of-the-science and state-of-the-applied-science for smoke management and addressing the air quality and public health impacts of
Wildfires present an increasing challenge to humanity and the ecosystems and atmosphere we depend on. The ability of societies to respond to larger and more destructive wildfire events and mitigate against further climate impacts is also increasingly challenged.
This conference will host plenary talks, scientific presentations, and field trips exploring the science and management of how to create and maintain resilient forest ecosystems and the human communities embedded in them.
The After the Flames Conference and Workshop is a dynamic, solutions-driven event focused on post-fire recovery. It brings together wildfire-impacted communities, response agencies, and recovery experts to share practical tools, build partnerships, and drive real progress in restoring landscapes and building resilience.
Forest managers are faced with escalating size, severity, and cost of wildfires. To mitigate this, U.S. federal land management agencies are increasing forest treatments such as mechanical thinning and prescribed fire. While there is a growing body of work on treatment–wildfire interactions, treatment impacts in increasingly extreme wildfire situations remain unknown.
Growing wildfire risks are increasing losses and damages to wildland-urban interface households in the American West. In Colorado, the December 2021 Marshall Fire destroyed over 1000 suburban homes and became the most destructive fire in the state's history and the 10th costliest in US history.
Exposure to PM2·5 from wildfire smoke during pregnancy has been implicated as a risk factor for preterm birth. We investigated this association in the prospective nationwide US Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort, focusing on prenatal wildfire PM2·5 exposure intensity, duration, and timing.