In southern California, a region dominated by human-caused ignitions, a disproportionate number and extent of fires were associated with specific ignition causes, and this may be due to their distinctive spatial and temporal patterns. Fire prevention programmes could prioritise strategies and optimise resources by focussing on specific causes, locations and timing of ignitions.

For the past 100 years, area burned in forests has been more strongly tied to climate than in lower-elevation non-forested ecosystems. In these forests, fire activity is highly dependent on spring precipitation and summer temperatures and less so on winter conditions. Over this time frame, the relationship between fire and climate has not been static and temperature has played an increasingly important role in recent decades.

This study reports on a quantitative investigation to discover the relationships of, and whether mindfulness and self-compassion of fire supervisors could predict desired wildland firefighter leadership qualities as perceived by crewmembers. Significant relationships were found among mindful and self-compassionate supervisors' scores and higher crewmember ratings of their crew supervisors' leadership.

Litter moisture content of larch stands in Daxinganling Region, China can be accurately predicted by two quasi-physical models proposed by Australian scientists at 1-h intervals, thus expanding the applicability of the two models.

A model for the energy transfer from a wildfire to a moss-covered peatland surface typical of a boreal forested peatland is presented. The ability of the surface moss layer to ignite was assessed based on model outputs coupled with field observations of surface moisture content during normal and drought periods.

The standard approach to isolating and cataloguing assets for protection is not compatible with how people experience their landscapes. The everyday integration of local historical and ecological knowledge, and of spatial and temporal scales, overcomes public and private boundaries, informing people’s interpretation of fire management and risk.

The paper compared the MCD45A1 and official dataset on the forest burned area in mainland China from 2001 to 2011. The two datasets were comparable on the national scale but showed large differences on the subnational scale, especially for south-west China. MCD45A1 correctly identified the forest fire seasons.

There have been suggestions that management-imposed reductions in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in savannas could lead to significant sequestration of carbon into additional tree biomass. However, we contend that in northern Australian eucalypt savannas, tree biomass is already close to its upper bound, and it is likely to be relatively unresponsive to fire management.

We analysed rebuilding and new development after wildfires destroyed buildings. While only a quarter of homes were rebuilt within 5 years post-fire, new development rates inside versus outside fire perimeters were similar, suggesting that wildfire risk had a limited effect on decisions to live in a fire-prone area.

We investigated the applicability of the Fine Fuel Moisture Code, one component of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System, in tracking the changes in masticated surface fuel moisture content. Calibration techniques and modifications to the model improved the accuracy of moisture estimates for a boreal forest mastication treatment in west-central Alberta, Canada.

For shrub–steppe fires, this study validates the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) burned area perimeter product. Although it provides reasonable assessments of the fire perimeter, it oversimplifies the within-fire area. Studies using MTBS data to analyse area burned trends should constrain the burned area product with spectral indices.

Spring–summer vapour pressure deficit (VPD) correlates at least as strongly with annual burned forest area in the southwest United States as does any evaluated climate or moisture variable. Climate models predict VPD to continue increasing due to warming, implying continued increases in southwestern forest fire area when fuels are not limiting.

A focus on the response of plants to the most recent burn limits our ability to answer questions on the appropriate fire regimes for conservation. We found that the fire regime strongly influenced richness and abundance of species categorised as mid-storey trees and those individuals currently in the mid-level strata.

This article reviews social science research on Indigenous wildfire management in Australia, Canada and the United States after the year 2000 and explores future research needs in the field.

Using a conceptual framework we make explicit some of the necessary but often hidden trade-offs that are implicit in assessments of ‘shared responsibility’ for wildfire management. We compare and contrast potential legal and governance implications of four extreme positions on wildfire management to encourage stakeholders to acknowledge and debate the necessary value trade-offs.

Alternatives to mass evacuation during a wildfire are being increasingly considered in the United States. We examine how individuals in four communities considering an alternative assess the issues. The tension between increasing safety and reducing uncertainty for emergency responders versus for residents is a key consideration in choosing a preferred strategy.

Many residents of at-risk areas delay committing to defence or evacuation as their response to wildfire threat. This study compared several plausible causes of decision delay and determined that householders’ delay was best predicted by the difference in perceived values of defending v. evacuating, resulting in decision delay when both options get closer in attractiveness.