Pacific Northwest Research Station

Fire Research Center Established in Seattle

USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station

Portland, OR: August 14, 2003

Contact:

Media assistance: Sherri Richardson-Dodge, (503) 808-2137

PORTLAND, Ore. August 14, 2003. For more than 30 years, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station conducted fire research out of its forestry sciences laboratory in Seattle. But as its fire research program and partnerships continued to grow, the Station decided to rename the lab to create the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory (PWFSL) according to PNW Research Station Director Tom Quigley.

“I’m also happy to announce the formation of the Atmosphere and Fire Interactions Research and Engineering team which will be based at the PWFSL,” Quigley said. “This team will generate new information useful to land managers and policymakers and will be led by Dr. Sue Ferguson.”

The Station’s Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team led by Dr. Sam Sandberg and the Rural Urban Wildland Interactions Team led by Dr. Roger Clark will continue to be based in the PWFSL as well.

Research currently conducted at the newly-named lab includes the impact of fire on air quality and visibility, wildfire and ecology research, the effects of fire on air, and the impacts of smoke on human health, and social research (rural and urban wildland interface). The Station will also continue to conduct significant fire research at its other lab locations.

The PNW Research Station headquarters is in Portland, Oregon, with 10 laboratories located in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. The Station has about 500 employees.