THE ENERGY AND RESOURCES GROUP FALL 2019 COLLOQUIUM SERIES PRESENTS: SPEAKER: BRANDON COLLINS DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 2019 TIME: 4:00-5:30pm PLACE: 126 Barrows TITLE: Changing forest fire patterns in central and northern California, how much and why? DESCRIPTION: Large wildfire occurrence has increased noticeably throughout central and northern California over the last 10-15 year. Climate more conducive to fire spread and changing vegetation (fuel) complexes are readily cited causes of this. This presentation describes the historical context for large wildfire occurrence in northern California using a newly discovered dataset and compares that to contemporary occurrence. Additionally, it explores the contribution of forest change, climate, and ignitions on observed patterns of large wildfire occurrence. Lastly, it will address forest and fire management strategies for mitigating effects of future fires. SPEAKER: Brandon Collins is a Research Scientist with both the US Forest Service-Pacific Southwest Research Station, and UC Berkeley-Center for Fire Research and Outreach. His research interests involve investigating effects of fire and fuels treatments on forests. Much of Brandon’s research is intended to inform forest management and ultimately improving resilience to wildfire and drought.