In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Emily Browne, who has worked on wildfire prevention and suppression in Alaska with the US National Park Service. On September 27, the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission released a report with recommendations for addressing the challenges that are associated with wildfire in the United States. Browne discusses some of these recommendations, the day-to-day life of working on wildfire mitigation in the wilderness, various wildfire-mitigation strategies, the experience of working with an all-female fire crew, and the gender disparity in the US firefighting workforce.

References and recommendations:

“On Fire: The Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission” from the US Department of Agriculture Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission; https://www.usda.gov/topics/disaster-resource-center/wildland-fire/commission

USAJOBS website; https://www.usajobs.gov/

“Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer; https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

“The Big Burn” by Timothy Egan; https://www.timothyeganbooks.com/the-big-burn