Pacific Fire Exchange
The Pacific Fire Exchange (PFX) facilitates and promotes wildfire science in Hawai‘i and across the Pacific. Principal Investigator Clay Trauernicht is faculty in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience and also leads the NREM Wildland Fire Program. The PFX site includes a number of resources, including data, maps, fact sheets, and videos. Are you interested in incorporating wildfire science into your classroom teaching and learning? Here are some possible connections!
Are some plants better at preventing the spread of wildfire (3-LS4-3)? Learn about how different plants, including Native Hawaiian plants, Polynesian introduced plants, and recently introduced plants, have different characteristics that make them suited for creating “green firebreaks.” Explore these plants in depth to obtain information about how these plants are propagated and what helps them survive. Use this information to construct an argument about how some plants are better suited for different habitats, including environments where there is risk of wildfire.
How can we use data to mitigate the impacts of wildfires in Hawai‘i (MS-ESS3-2; HS-ESS3-4)? Explore fire data sets and maps, tools, and media to look at the history of wildfire occurrence, burn area and land cover, and impact of wildfires. Link to other related resources on weather, climate, hydrology, and vegetation. Use this information to determine wildfire risk and how damage can be minimized.
How does vegetation provide an ecosystem service (MS-LS1-4) and how can we ensure these ecosystem services are maintained (MS-LS2-5)? Wildfires can have negative impacts on affected ecosystems, especially on Hawai‘i’s rare and endangered plants. Plants can also play a role in reducing fire risk. Some plants are better suited for creating “green firebreaks,” but they have different requirements for survival. It is also important to ensure that creating green firebreaks does not cause more damage to local ecosystems by spreading invasive species. Use this information to construct an argument about how the vegetation can mitigate fire risk and consider design solutions that could maintain ecosystem services provided by plants.
Related lesson resources If standards are not noted, the lesson may not be fully aligned to NGSS and may need to be adapted.
- Which Sphere Started this Fire – GRC (5-ESS2-1)
- Get Fired Up – GRC (HS-LS2-6)
- Revegetation and Restoration of Habitats Destroyed in the Maui Fires – STEMS2(multiple)
- Hawai‘i’s Native Forests – PRISM
- Wildland Fire School – USGS (multiple)
- Matter & Energy – OpenSciEd (HS LS)