39 to those areas. Now they’re using that work to guide prescribed burns across Forest Service, municipal, and private forests, focusing on areas where initial fuel reduction has already been completed under the Ashland Forest Resiliency project. According to Chris Chambers, Ashland Fire & Rescue’s wildfire division chief, “We use PODs to help prioritize where we put prescribed burns on the landscape and where to plan future fuel treatments on private and municipal land. We won’t have enough money to do Keeping Communities Safe everything that we want to do everywhere, so it’s best to put our money in places where it’s going to matter the most.” Ashland leaders are implementing PODs down to the community level in a very detailed way. Their level of collaboration is also unprecedented, with around 95 people involved. Having access to GIS technology has facilitated city leadership’s collaboration with private landowners and partner agencies to create a unified plan. “We need to come together, and the data and maps help us do that. Maps help show people why action is needed,” says Dunn. Shaping the Future of Fire Management As Dunn and his colleagues have been working to develop and test PODs, word has been spreading. The data-driven approach and its proven success motivated US Forest Service leaders to champion the concept to the highest levels. Thanks to these advocates, $100 million in funding for PODs planning was explicitly embedded in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, with an additional $500 million allocated to hardening PODs boundaries. While Dunn is excited to see adoption in national parks and forests, he knows PODs also have the potential to transform the plight of fire-prone communities. He hopes to see the approach thoughtfully implemented everywhere in a wall-to-wall network of smart maps. And with GIS technology, virtually limitless data can be added to create a fully integrated system that supports fire managers in every phase of prevention, planning, and response. “All of this is GIS. I wouldn’t do anything without it. Maps are the most effective communication tool to develop a truly functional strategy,” Dunn said. A map-based approach to wildfire planning and suppression has been growing in popularity to prioritize the places where firefighters can best quell more intense wildfires.
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