Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

NOAA’s Fire Weather Testbed leans into social and behavioral science with CSU researchers

By Theresa Barosh | Nov. 2024 | Originally published in SOURCE

Multiple Colorado State University researchers work on an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional effort to support decision-making related to wildfires. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established a Fire Weather Testbed in 2023 based at the Global Systems Laboratory in Boulder, CO.

While the testbed has a physical location, the team also operates virtually or travels to evaluate emerging technologies and fire weather-related products in the context of what end-users in operations need and want. The Fire Weather Testbed relies heavily on behavioral science to understand how people’s knowledge, experiences and perceptions shape their adoption and use of fire-related resources and technologies.

Much like NOAA’s other testbeds, the Fire Weather Testbed is meant to foster collaboration between researchers and operations teams. The testbed is overseen by NOAA Lead Scientist Zach Toby. CSU CIRA researcher Emily Wells conducts social science research through the testbed.

“We help ensure that products are useful and functional for users,” said Wells. “For testbed evaluations, we bring product developers, and end-users together in one place so they can learn from one another.”

Wells and Ben Hatchett, also with CIRA, bring expertise in social and physical sciences to the testbed, working together to accelerate the development and delivery of products, technologies, and communication strategies to users. CIRA is a partnership between CSU’s Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering and NOAA.

“We are excited that we have built this awesome team with an even ratio of social to physical scientists,” said Hatchett, “We are going to keep building it out, and that will include more CSU CIRA researchers.” The testbed is a collaborative partnership between Global Systems Laboratory, the National Weather Service and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS).

“Our primary role is to talk to and get experience with all the different users of fire weather information,” said Hatchett. “The two of us go talk with different people and gather as much information from them as far as what they use, what they like, what they need, and what they have trouble with – whether it’s technical or more social, such as on the communications side.”

Wells received her Ph.D. from the Engineering & Public Policy Department at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also received her bachelor’s degree in decision science. Hatchett received his B.S. in geography, M.S. in atmospheric science and Ph.D. in geography from the University of Nevada, Reno.

“We are really asking and listening to the needs of end users,” Wells said. The testbed team works to understand the needs of meteorologists, foresters, land managers, emergency managers and others.

One of the primary goals of the testbed is to bridge an operations-to-research-to-operations gap. Wells and Hatchett research that gap by connecting researchers to the needs of the end users in operations. Through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and field work, the testbed engages with end-users to identify their operational needs and information gaps around fire response and management.

“I’m excited to see findings and recommendations that we make push the science forward and get implemented into operational environments whether it’s a large incident or a backyard community burn,” said Hatchett. “We’re facilitating seeing good stuff get better and get to people who need it: I want to see folks use it in real situations.”

Need for the Fire Weather Testbed

In the last few years, more high impact fires resulted in the loss of entire towns, such as the historic Maui town of Lahaina or Paradise in California.

“We are seeing a characteristic change in fire impact, which is the culmination of fuels accumulation due to fire exclusion, people moving into more susceptible higher hazard areas, and climate change impacts,” said Hatchett. “When we do have fires start or conditions favorable for fire starts, it is really important to have the best available science and data to inform any kind of management or decision making.”

Technology needs pertain to fire both before fire starts, once fires ignite and spread and then in the months and years following in terms of the recovery process and the suite of postfire hazards that result. While new technologies can support fire management and response, new resources have the potential to fall flat if the right people do not start using them. The testbed conducts research on the social side of technology use and needs.

The testbed’s first in person evaluation was over the course of a full week. They have conducted virtual one day evaluations as well. The team collects data from participants before, during, and after the evaluations with surveys and interviews. They collect data on how end users are using fire weather related tools and whether they find them to be useful, accessible, feasible and timely.

Next, the testbed hands off their findings to the product developers, such as coders at NOAA. Developers and researchers can make suggested product improvements to better suit the needs of their end users.

The Backstories

Wells got into emergency and hazard management initially during her Ph.D., as the COVID pandemic began. Wells was working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the time for their R&D branch. She worked on some decision support around COVID-related management and response such as epidemiological modeling for Pacific Island territories. Wells said that risks for island territories were unlike mainland issues, with more research, resource, or accessibility constraints.

“I became very concerned about and engaged in how fire crews handled the compounding hazard of COVID plus the severe 2020 fire season,” Wells said. “I started thinking a lot more during COVID about how first responders handle these types of coinciding risks and then I fell in love with the fire world through interviews.”

With a decision science and social science background, Wells had the necessary qualifications for the testbed position.

“I love thinking about organizational decision making, particularly in regard to how technologies are adopted and implemented,” she said. “So, when I learned about this Fire Weather Testbed team, it sounded like my dream opportunity.”

Similarly, Hatchett’s previous research did not center around fire. He worked on hydroclimate. Growing up, Hatchett’s family had an A-frame cabin with a shake roof on Donner Summit.

“I was always just told, if there’s a fire, there’s no hope for that [cabin]. You just lose it,” said Hatchett. “So, I didn’t really understand at all anything about fire or the history of it or the ecosystem effects. Despite seeing more and more fires, dealing with summer-long smoke events, and then studying atmospheric science, fire was always kind of peripheral. Even collaborating on fire weather projects, I never saw myself as a fire scientist.”

Hatchett was evacuated twice in one calendar year (2020-21) while living in California.

Hatchett’s wife was involved with prescribed burning in Sonoma County and encouraged him to get involved. Hatchett took the required firefighting training and started doing volunteer prescribed burns with Fire Forward and the Good Fire Alliance. He also trained and conducts burns with a group called the Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance in Lake County.

“A lot of my previous research had been trying to bridge research and operations on the water resource management side of things: bring science to managers and vice versa and produce products or tools,” said Hatchett, “When the testbed job came up, being able to shift gears and do that with fire was like this is the coolest opportunity because this is something where we can make a real difference.”

Next Steps

Wells and Hatchett plan to continue evaluations and discussions, as the testbed hires new members to fill out the team. They look forward to trying novel approaches and leaning into the social and behavioral science aspect of the research.

“I plan to get firefighter qualified so that we can go out to active fires and talk with people and observe people on the fire line,” said Wells, “I think some things will click for us in terms of just how the entire system works. I’m really pumped.”