Our future with fire: Barriers and opportunities for fire stewardship

Webinar recording.

Description: In this webinar, Kira Hoffman will describe some of the factors that have contributed to the recent impactful wildfire seasons experienced in British Columbia in the last five years. She will discuss some of the barriers to applying controlled fire to the broader landbase and the importance of supporting Indigenous-led fire stewardship.

​Presenter: Kira Hoffman is a fire ecologist and former wildland firefighter. Hoffman’s research focuses on how humans have used fire for millennia to manage and enhance their natural surroundings. In concert with Indigenous and local ecological knowledge, she uses western science to better understand how present-day forests have been shaped by stewardship techniques such as burning and how ongoing fire suppression has eroded the resiliency of landscapes and human communities. From field expeditions sampling fire-scarred trees to historical photograph interpretation and remote sensing imagery, her methods also integrate a range of disciplines including dendrochronology, botany, and archaeology. Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of British Columbia, she is passionate about linking knowledge to action through science communication and supporting Indigenous-led solutions to environmental problems.