2023 Orange County Fire Watch Symposium
This past weekend, Orange County Fire Watch and Irvine Ranch Conservancy hosted the 2023 Fire Watch Symposium to raise awareness about wildfires and wildfire prevention with their volunteers and the community. Alongside their partners, Orange County Fire Authority, National Weather Service, OC Parks, City of Irvine and City of Newport Beach, the symposium highlighted the crucial work that is done by their Fire Watch volunteers.
The Orange County Fire Watch program was designed to bring together volunteers and staff to provide early fire detection, deter arsonists, and help reduce the frequency of human-caused wildland fires, especially during high-risk circumstances and extreme weather conditions. Tony Pointer, OC Fire Watch Program Manager and IRC team member, kicked off the well-attended event and began the annual symposium by expressing gratitude for the existing 300 Fire Watch volunteers that deploy during Red Flag Warning days and explaining the work that they do.
The Orange County Fire Watch program was designed to bring together volunteers and staff to provide early fire detection, deter arsonists, and help reduce the frequency of human-caused wildland fires, especially during high-risk circumstances and extreme weather conditions. Tony Pointer, OC Fire Watch Program Manager and IRC team member, kicked off the well-attended event and began the annual symposium by expressing gratitude for the existing 300 Fire Watch volunteers that deploy during Red Flag Warning days and explaining the work that they do.
The symposium provided an opportunity for partners, volunteers and community members to network, learn more about how they can proactively protect their homes from wildfires, and discuss any Fire Watch questions. The presentation featured insight from inventor and climate activist, Ryan Honary, explaining his early wildfire detection technology, SensoRy AI, as well as speakers like Scott Hatch, a Wildland Resource Planner, and Francisco Martinez, Fire Prevention Specialist for Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), discussing how to prepare for fire season. Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, also touched on the weather that Southern California has experienced this year in relation to current and future fire conditions.
Although some fires are caused by natural ignitions, like lightning strikes, human-started ignitions have become the leading cause of local wildfires. The increased frequency of wildfire occurring as a result of these human-started ignitions means native plants increasingly do not have enough time to fully recover between fire events. This creates conditions ideal for invasive and more flammable plants to dominate and degrade native habitats. For this reason, among many others, the OC Fire Watch program deploys its volunteers to try and prevent wildfire ignitions and decrease the frequency and severity of fire events.
Training for this program is provided by OCFA and IRC staff and includes fire behavior education, public interaction training and how to report fires. To view this year’s Fire Watch Symposium, visit IRNL’s YouTube. To learn more about the Orange County Fire Watch program and how to get involved, visit IRConservancy.org, LetsGoOutside.org or follow the Landmarks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Although some fires are caused by natural ignitions, like lightning strikes, human-started ignitions have become the leading cause of local wildfires. The increased frequency of wildfire occurring as a result of these human-started ignitions means native plants increasingly do not have enough time to fully recover between fire events. This creates conditions ideal for invasive and more flammable plants to dominate and degrade native habitats. For this reason, among many others, the OC Fire Watch program deploys its volunteers to try and prevent wildfire ignitions and decrease the frequency and severity of fire events.
Training for this program is provided by OCFA and IRC staff and includes fire behavior education, public interaction training and how to report fires. To view this year’s Fire Watch Symposium, visit IRNL’s YouTube. To learn more about the Orange County Fire Watch program and how to get involved, visit IRConservancy.org, LetsGoOutside.org or follow the Landmarks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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