Michael Gollner, a UC Berkeley professor who works with Kenichi Soga on a National Science Foundation (NSF) Connected Communities project that grew from a 2019 CITRIS Seed Award, is helping the Bay Area prepare for wildfires with emergency response tools and community education opportunities.
Gollner’s research group develops detailed, state-of-the-art simulations of wildfires in urban areas, intended to reveal how specific factors— such as the locations of buildings, construction materials or proximity to vegetation— affect a community’s fire risk. These efforts will build upon CalFire hazard maps, which highlight the fire trends of broader swaths of land, in order to identify and mitigate threats at a hyperlocal level.
Working in collaboration with the Berkeley FireSafe Council, the CITRIS PI is also grounding his wildland fire science course in real-world scenarios in an effort to connect students with meaningful change and support community outreach at a larger scale.
As part of the same NSF Connected Communities work, UC Santa Cruz researchers are developing serious games to help residents prepare for evacuations.