Great attendance in spite of the virus
We had a great turnout for our first online Annual Meeting (full recording is here), with an estimated 70-80 attendees (57 screens!). After a brief update from the Conservancy board, we moved on to our invited speakers, Carl Pennypacker of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, head of the FUEGO (Fire Urgency Estimator in Geosynchronous Orbit) Project, and Nick Luby, Deputy Chief of the Fire Operations Bureau, Oakland Fire Department. The speakers were followed by a question and answer period. For more on our speakers click here.
Click on the image above for a PDF of 68 slides presented at the meeting.
We were pleased to welcome Carl Pennypacker of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, head of the FUEGO (Fire Urgency Estimator in Geosynchronous Orbit) Project. He explained how new camera and machine learning technologies are being developed, using resources from PGE and Cal Fire, for locating nascent wildfires. Technologies like drones and satellites “help pinpoint wildfires in their early stages, provide comprehensive overviews of ones currently raging, and track where containment is and isn’t working,” said Carl.
We then heard from Nicholas Luby, Deputy Chief of the Fire Operations Bureau, who shared with us the many ways the Oakland Fire Department is preparing for wildfire evacuation and keeping the community safe. He’s been working diligently to build the infrastructure for evacuations, ranging from old-fashioned “No Parking Any Time” signs in neighborhoods in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone in the Oakland Hills to working with Alameda County and with Zonehaven, a San Francisco start-up developing an app that will provide residents with wildfire preparedness technology, including real-time traffic information.
Valuable links from the meeting:
https://www.Readyforwildfire.org
https://www.firesafestreets@oaklandca.gov
https://www.NLuby@oaklandca.gov
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/fire-in-paradise/
