Wildfire experts available for interviews

MOSCOW, Idaho — As wildfires affect communities across the West, University of Idaho experts are available to discuss smoke and human health, wildfire behavior, firefighter safety, community preparedness, forest management, fire ecology, climate impacts, wildfire policy and more.

Media members may reach out directly to the experts, whose contact information is listed below. Those who are searching for an interview in an expertise area not listed may request assistance from Danae Lenz at dlenz@uidaho.edu.

Wildfire policy, economics and community preparedness

Dennis Becker, dean of the College of Natural Resources and professor of natural resource policy

• Expertise: State and federal wildfire policy, policy evaluation, wildfire economics and landowner programs
• Contact: 208-885-8981 | drbecker@uidaho.edu

Chelsea Pennick, associate director of the Policy Analysis Group and research assistant professor of natural resources policy and administration

• Expertise: State and federal wildfire policy, wildfire suppression funding, effects on rural communities and collaborative forest management
• Contact: chelseap@uidaho.edu

Travis Paveglio, professor of natural resource sociology and director of the U of I Wildland Fire Center

• Expertise: Community wildfire preparedness, social vulnerability, fire-adapted communities and wildfire communication
• Contact: 509-595-1607 | tpaveglio@uidaho.edu

Smoke, human health and firefighter safety

Leda Kobziar, professor of wildland fire science and director of the Master of Natural Resources program

• Expertise: Fire ecology, fire and fuels management, prescribed fire and fuels management, ecological impacts of smoke, smoke and fire microbiology (pyroaerobiology) and human health impacts
• Contact: 208-292-2683 | lkobziar@uidaho.edu

Randall Brooks, professor of forestry and Extension forestry specialist

• Expertise: Firefighter health and safety, sleep, fatigue and body composition changes among firefighters working on the fire line
• Contact: 208-885-6536 | rbrooks@uidaho.edu

Wildfire and forest management

Robert Keefe, associate professor and director of the U of I Experimental Forest

• Expertise: Forest and fuels management, wildfire mitigation costs, prescribed fire use and wildland firefighter safety
• Contact: 208-310-0269 | robk@uidaho.edu

Heather Heward, research assistant professor and president and founder of the Idaho Prescribed Fire Council

• Expertise: Prescribed burning, wildland fire training and education and fire and fuel monitoring and modeling
• Contact: hheward@uidaho.edu

Wildfire ecology and environmental impacts

Charles Goebel, professor of forest ecosystem restoration and ecology and head of the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences

• Expertise: Forest ecology, ecosystem restoration, riparian ecology, wildland fire education
• Contact: 208-885-7311 | cgoebel@uidaho.edu

Alistair Smith, professor and chair of the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences

• Expertise: Forest fire ecology, fire behavior and vegetation ignition risk
• Contact: 208-885-1009 | alistair@uidaho.edu

Grant Harley, associate dean and professor of geography

• Expertise: Forest fire ecology, climate change, drought, floods, wildfires, insect outbreaks and tree-ring science
• Contact: 208-885-0950 | gharley@uidaho.edu

Jessica R. Miesel, associate professor in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences

• Expertise: Fire ecology, wildfire’s effects on soil and soil burn severity
• Contact: 802-558-0592 | jmiesel@uidaho.edu

Luigi Boschetti, professor of remote sensing

• Expertise: Global monitoring of fires and forests, interactions among fire, vegetation and carbon, Earth observation data science and geographic artificial intelligence
• Contact: 208-885-6508 | luigi@uidaho.edu

Eva Strand, professor emerita of forest, rangeland and fire sciences

• Expertise: Rangeland ecology, vegetation and fuels management and post-fire effects
• Contact: 208-596-1528 | evas@uidaho.edu

Media Contact

Danae Lenz
External communications coordinator 
208-885-1605
dlenz@uidaho.edu