This year's conference spanned three days at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. The venue played host to a wide-range of people involved in the wildfire community: fire chiefs, outreach coordinators, agency directors, community action group organizers, you name it!
After an unfortunate plane cancellation and rescheduling, Pablo Beimler was still able to fly from Hawaii Island to Reno to represent Hawaii Wildfire at the conference. Mr. Beimler shared an exhibition booth with the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange (http://gpfirescience.missouristate.edu/) to showcase HWMO's work and our new wildfire prevention mascot: Kaleo the Pueo.
On the second day of the conference, a very special ceremony was held to commemorate this year's Wildfire Mitigation Award winners. The awards were chosen and presented by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the USDA Forest Service (USFS).
Lo and behold, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization was one of the recipients for the Wildfire Mitigation Innovation Award! Mr. Beimler joined the stage to accept the award on behalf of HWMO, an exciting moment for our whole organization. We couldn't of done it without the great support of our incredible staff, Board members, Technical Advisory Committee, community members and partners!
To round off the conference, Andrew Phelps of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, gave a unique presentation about how the key principles of improv acting can apply to emergency management. He even called upon some volunteers to help act it out!
For a more in-depth read about the conference, check out this article: http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060016025
Banner photo: The Wildfire Mitigation Awards, one of which was awarded to Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization
Above: Pablo Beimler accepts the Wildfire Mitigation Innovation Award on behalf of Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization.