“PODs are a great example of Forest Service research meeting the on the ground needs of the agency and the nation. As a science-based agency and a learning organization, we are using PODs to integrate our best knowledge about fire management and the ability to collaboratively plan,” announced Chief Vicki Christiansen as she kicked off the recent PODs workshop.

PODs, potential operational delineations, give land managers a structured process for developing landscape-scale wildfire response options before the fire season even begins. PODs are “containers” drawn on a map that are defined by potential fire control features, such as roads and ridge tops, and can be used to summarize risk to landscape values in a way that is useful for responding to wildfires before they occur.

Over 450 line officers, planners, fire responders, scientists and consultants participated in the two-day event hosted by the Rocky Mountain Research Station science delivery group and the Wildfire Risk Management Science team.

PODs have been adopted by more than 40 national forests and their neighbors across the country. The PODs framework combines local knowledge with advanced spatial analytics to help managers and their collaborators develop a common understanding of risks, opportunities and desired outcomes from fire management.

Station supervisory research forester and science team lead Dave Calkin said, “This workshop presented a microcosm of the PODs process, bringing many stakeholders to the table to create a communication platform and facilitate discussion about pre-fire planning. The PODs approach to pre-planning for fire is proactive, cross-boundary, and collaborative.”

The workshop included case studies from the field, showcased how PODs have been adapted for a range of applications and identified necessary developments in collaborative fire planning. Andy Mandell, fire management officer on the Tonto National Forest who served as the Incident Commander on the 2016 Juniper Fire and 2017 Pinal Fire, said during his presentation, “The PODs concept for us was the tool to articulate and explain our risk and the justification for the values at risk that we are protecting. Creating the relationship between the decision-makers and the incident commanders, having that conversation before there is smoke in the air, is critical.”

He added, “We got really good feedback on the fire, largely in part from the community. We also got much better buy-in from our firefighters that came to the fire after we had had a year to articulate and talk about the PODs strategy.”

Workshop recordings are available for anyone interested in learning more. Next steps include creating a community of practice for continued sharing, learning and expanding the use of PODs to new forests and neighboring communities. The science team will continue to advance the science and tools that support PODs development and integrate feedback from the workshop and the Community of Practice. Our collective goal is to continually improve firefighter and community safety by strategically and effectively managing fires.