WASHINGTON, D.C.—How do you practice situational assessments and plan courses of action? Use a sand table. Sand table exercises work the world over for helping emergency response teams prepare, and a team of Forest Service instructors recently returned from the western Balkans after two weeks doing just that. The team worked with firefighters and foresters on the Incident Command System and wildfire management, and workshop attendees overwhelmingly mentioned sand table exercises as their favorite activity.

“Practical exercises on sand tables were of special interest to all of us and opened the space for exchange of experience through role playing,” said Mirsad Šehić, commander of the Professional Firefighting Unit of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Commander Bihać’s unit was particularly keen to learn more about wildfire management. The threat of wildfire has grown significantly in the western Balkans in recent years. Currently, there is no standardized wildland firefighting training curricula in Serbia or in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Forest Service instructors shared approaches for integrated response, such as the Incident Command System, and encouraged participants to share their experiences and talk through challenges and solutions.

Simulation exercises that encourage group discussion and integration across agencies are needed to combat the rising incidents of large wildland fires in the western Balkans. A more holistic forest management plan, one that includes fire, is integral to a long-term strategy of resilient landscapes.

“It was very useful to have different sectors experience a joint training and to practice fire prevention, to discuss tactics together, and to see different ways in which a first responder can be active within the ICS, to be part of a plan and of the line of command,” said Predrag Aničić, Sector for Emergency, Ministry for Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.

The Forest Service has been supporting emergency first responders and foresters in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2019. Over the years, 90 commanders and high-level first responders from firefighting brigades across the country have attended this training. The Serbia workshop was new this year.

Improving emergency management techniques, such as those taught in the Forest Service training sessions, are of crucial importance for the region because of the general increase of climate change-related impacts in southeastern Europe, particularly in the western Balkans peninsula. According to the latest IPCC report, the impacts of climate change across the region are predicted to be even more severe than in other parts of the European continent. Already, the region is experiencing increasing droughts, heatwaves and wildfires coupled with torrential rains and storms. Natural ecosystems such as forests and watersheds are under threat and impacting human settlements and health.

Forest Service engagement in the western Balkans is focused on prevention and response to the increased threat of wildfires and to learning through collaboration. Activities are supported by the Department of State and the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

“The chance to interact with fire professionals across the world is a great opportunity to share ideas and concepts we have learned through training and experience from fighting fire in the U.S. I have gained a better understanding of both countries’ emergency response agencies and learned a lot that I will be able to take back and apply to western fire response,” said Elden Alexander, Oregon Department of Forestry (retired).