GrumpyUncleSean🔥
@grumpyunclesean.bsky.social
Research scientist | public land owner | facial hair enthusiast. Science interests: #Wildfire #Forests #GlobalChange
Pinned
Intensifying Fire Season Aridity Portends Ongoing Expansion of Severe Wildfire in Western US Forests
Area burned by wildfire has increased in western US forests over recent decades. However, high-severity fire—fire that kills all or most trees—is also an important metric of fire activity given its d...
doi.org
1/4
Please see our new paper just published in Global Change Biology: “Intensifying fire season aridity portends ongoing expansion of severe wildfire in western US forests”. 🧪🌍🔥
Please see our new paper just published in Global Change Biology: “Intensifying fire season aridity portends ongoing expansion of severe wildfire in western US forests”. 🧪🌍🔥
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
A story map, produced by @firesciencegov, highlights the real-world impacts & accomplishments from the FSEN. Our section focuses on the Risk-Informed Wildfire Management hot topic page we developed as a rapid response to a request from the Rocky Mountain Research Station.
A Year of Collaboration: The Fire Science Exchange Network
This storymap highlights the real-world impacts and accomplishments of the Fire Science Exchange Network in fiscal year 2024.
buff.ly
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
A story map, produced by @firesciencegov, highlights the real-world impacts & accomplishments from the FSEN. Our section focuses on the Risk-Informed Wildfire Management hot topic page we developed as a rapid response to a request from the Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
New article alert 🚨 for the #FireEcology Journal! Bby John P. Roccaforte, David W. Huffman, Kyle C. Rodman, Thomas A. Heinlein, Joseph E. Crouse, and Peter Z. Fulé #SNFECO 🔥 Read it here: ow.ly/5Poa50Xim7K
November 3, 2025 at 9:05 PM
New article alert 🚨 for the #FireEcology Journal! Bby John P. Roccaforte, David W. Huffman, Kyle C. Rodman, Thomas A. Heinlein, Joseph E. Crouse, and Peter Z. Fulé #SNFECO 🔥 Read it here: ow.ly/5Poa50Xim7K
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
a slow-motion mass murder taking place right in front of our eyes, with the collusion of elites everywhere
#GatesMemo
#GatesMemo
New data from Gogel - Fossil fuel expansion continues despite governments’ commitment to “transition away” from
fossil fuels at COP28
- 96% of upstream oil and gas companies are still exploring or
developing new resources
#climatecrisis
gogel.org/sites/defaul...
gogel.org
fossil fuels at COP28
- 96% of upstream oil and gas companies are still exploring or
developing new resources
#climatecrisis
gogel.org/sites/defaul...
gogel.org
gogel.org
November 4, 2025 at 11:54 AM
a slow-motion mass murder taking place right in front of our eyes, with the collusion of elites everywhere
#GatesMemo
#GatesMemo
Some nice media exposure on our new paper published in @globalchangebio.bsky.social pertaining to expanding area burned by high severity wildfire. 🌍🔥
Thank you, @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social, for raising awareness about this important paper.
Tagging bsky co-author @coopecology.bsky.social.
Thank you, @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social, for raising awareness about this important paper.
Tagging bsky co-author @coopecology.bsky.social.
Took me forever, but finally got my spot on @grumpyunclesean.bsky.social's latest paper up. Worth a read if you care about fire. www.boisestatepublicradio.org/environment/...
Study: Fires are getting bigger, but their intensity is growing even faster
Wildfires have grown substantially in size in recent decades, but they’re also burning much more intensely, with high severity areas growing much faster than fires overall. New research projects addit...
www.boisestatepublicradio.org
November 4, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Some nice media exposure on our new paper published in @globalchangebio.bsky.social pertaining to expanding area burned by high severity wildfire. 🌍🔥
Thank you, @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social, for raising awareness about this important paper.
Tagging bsky co-author @coopecology.bsky.social.
Thank you, @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social, for raising awareness about this important paper.
Tagging bsky co-author @coopecology.bsky.social.
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
My team has been working on a report that provides policymakers with clear situational awareness on the wildfire situation in California. I'm so proud of the work product we have produced.
November 3, 2025 at 6:37 PM
My team has been working on a report that provides policymakers with clear situational awareness on the wildfire situation in California. I'm so proud of the work product we have produced.
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
We’re not going to sci-comm our way out of federal attacks on science, but it’s also never been more important for the public to understand the value of our science and the threats that face it.
The media offers scientists a megaphone for doing this. Come learn how to use it effectively.👇🏼
The media offers scientists a megaphone for doing this. Come learn how to use it effectively.👇🏼
✨ Join us for an upcoming webinar with @allisonagsten.bsky.social to learn how to effectively share your stories with the public as an engaged scientist!
🎤 Sharing Your Science with the Media to Highlight its Value to the Public
🗓️ Wed 11/5 @ 2 pm PT
🔗 Register bit.ly/4oro4KM
🎤 Sharing Your Science with the Media to Highlight its Value to the Public
🗓️ Wed 11/5 @ 2 pm PT
🔗 Register bit.ly/4oro4KM
October 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
We’re not going to sci-comm our way out of federal attacks on science, but it’s also never been more important for the public to understand the value of our science and the threats that face it.
The media offers scientists a megaphone for doing this. Come learn how to use it effectively.👇🏼
The media offers scientists a megaphone for doing this. Come learn how to use it effectively.👇🏼
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
The North Carolina legislature is set to pass a new Trump-inspired gerrymandered congressional map.
The move is likely to give Republicans nearly 80 percent of US House seats in an otherwise closely divided swing state where Trump won 51 percent of the vote in 2024.
The move is likely to give Republicans nearly 80 percent of US House seats in an otherwise closely divided swing state where Trump won 51 percent of the vote in 2024.
Republicans are making one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation even more rigged
North Carolina Republicans just passed a new Trump-inspired congressional map to oust a Black Democrat.
www.motherjones.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:45 PM
The North Carolina legislature is set to pass a new Trump-inspired gerrymandered congressional map.
The move is likely to give Republicans nearly 80 percent of US House seats in an otherwise closely divided swing state where Trump won 51 percent of the vote in 2024.
The move is likely to give Republicans nearly 80 percent of US House seats in an otherwise closely divided swing state where Trump won 51 percent of the vote in 2024.
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
If you pay attention, ecological collapse is happening everywhere, in real time.
1/ Like here: Starved of water, taken down by insects, burned by repeated, abnormally intense wildfires, much of the ponderosa forest is turning into permanent grass & shrublands.
orionmagazine.org/article/twil...
1/ Like here: Starved of water, taken down by insects, burned by repeated, abnormally intense wildfires, much of the ponderosa forest is turning into permanent grass & shrublands.
orionmagazine.org/article/twil...
Twilight Trees - Orion Magazine
An elegy for ponderosa pines in a changing west
orionmagazine.org
October 20, 2025 at 9:10 AM
If you pay attention, ecological collapse is happening everywhere, in real time.
1/ Like here: Starved of water, taken down by insects, burned by repeated, abnormally intense wildfires, much of the ponderosa forest is turning into permanent grass & shrublands.
orionmagazine.org/article/twil...
1/ Like here: Starved of water, taken down by insects, burned by repeated, abnormally intense wildfires, much of the ponderosa forest is turning into permanent grass & shrublands.
orionmagazine.org/article/twil...
“After detailed inspections, they found only 2% met or came close to meeting state standards for reducing fire risk.” 🔥
One simple thing most of us fail to do to protect homes against wildfires www.mercurynews.com/2025/10/19/t...
One simple thing most of us fail to do to protect homes against wildfires
“If you live within half a mile of a natural area … you likely need to be thinking about these things,” a Bay Area wildfire specialist warns.
www.mercurynews.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:28 PM
“After detailed inspections, they found only 2% met or came close to meeting state standards for reducing fire risk.” 🔥
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
As wildfires scorch California, should insurers divest from fossil fuels? www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/10/19/i...
As wildfires scorch California, should insurers divest from fossil fuels?
Even as carriers sound alarms about climate change, they continue to invest billions in oil and gas.
www.pressdemocrat.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:16 PM
As wildfires scorch California, should insurers divest from fossil fuels? www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/10/19/i...
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
Excellent work led by @ttkeller.bsky.social and important for stewarding forests w/ high-severity #fire regimes @esajournals.bsky.social @uwmadscience.bsky.social
New paper in Ecological Applications! Management that mimics historical mosaics of fire severity could promote postfire tree regeneration under future climate change. Thanks to co-authors @monicagturner.bsky.social @rupertseidl.bsky.social @christinadollinger.bsky.social @knowlton.bsky.social
Can fire exclusion zones enhance postfire tree regeneration? A simulation study in subalpine conifer forests
Climate change and novel fire regimes increasingly challenge stewardship of forests adapted to infrequent, stand-replacing fire. Novel fire regimes may disrupt mechanisms that sustained postfire rege...
dx.doi.org
October 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Excellent work led by @ttkeller.bsky.social and important for stewarding forests w/ high-severity #fire regimes @esajournals.bsky.social @uwmadscience.bsky.social
Some media exposure for our new paper on whitebark pine.
🧪🌍
Thanks to @mongabay.com journalist @john-cannon.bsky.social for the great reporting.
🧪🌍
Thanks to @mongabay.com journalist @john-cannon.bsky.social for the great reporting.
Warmer climate could slash threatened whitebark pine territory within decades: Study
Hotter and drier conditions could whittle away 80% of land where whitebark pine grows by the middle of this century, according to a recent study. Scattered across the highest parts of the Rocky Mounta...
news.mongabay.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Some media exposure for our new paper on whitebark pine.
🧪🌍
Thanks to @mongabay.com journalist @john-cannon.bsky.social for the great reporting.
🧪🌍
Thanks to @mongabay.com journalist @john-cannon.bsky.social for the great reporting.
Yet another reminder that 1) wildfire is inevitable and 2) if we don’t implement proactive wildfire management actions (such as prescribed fire), our forests are toast. 🔥
Excellent piece by Greg Weaver @fresnoland.bsky.social reporting the problems that led to the loss of Teakettle. We need to future-proof our land management agencies so that internal bureaucratic process and structure does not continue to cause inaction.
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
October 16, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Yet another reminder that 1) wildfire is inevitable and 2) if we don’t implement proactive wildfire management actions (such as prescribed fire), our forests are toast. 🔥
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
The climate crisis is fuelling extreme fires across the planet
theconversation.com/the-climate-...
theconversation.com/the-climate-...
The climate crisis is fuelling extreme fires across the planet
It’s clear – climate change is supercharging the world’s wildfires in unpredictable and devastating ways.
theconversation.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:49 AM
The climate crisis is fuelling extreme fires across the planet
theconversation.com/the-climate-...
theconversation.com/the-climate-...
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
Holy wow, +3.5 ppm CO₂ last year, up from +2.4 ppm average the past decade, and +0.6 ppm in the 1960s.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
October 16, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Holy wow, +3.5 ppm CO₂ last year, up from +2.4 ppm average the past decade, and +0.6 ppm in the 1960s.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
It gets scarier the closer you look at it. All this is a stress test for the planet, and it's buckling.
Two big reasons for the massive increase: wildfires, and the ocean sinks are shutting down.
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
Global wildfires burned an area of land larger than India in 2024
"the 2024-25 wildfire season drove more than 8bn tonnes of CO2 emissions"
... which will translate into around $1.5 TRILLION in global societal costs (in net present value)
www.carbonbrief.org/global-wildf...
"the 2024-25 wildfire season drove more than 8bn tonnes of CO2 emissions"
... which will translate into around $1.5 TRILLION in global societal costs (in net present value)
www.carbonbrief.org/global-wildf...
Global wildfires burned an area of land larger than India in 2024 - Carbon Brief
“Extreme” wildfires emitted more than 8bn tonnes of carbon dioxide during the 2024-25 “global fire season”, according to a new report.
www.carbonbrief.org
October 16, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Global wildfires burned an area of land larger than India in 2024
"the 2024-25 wildfire season drove more than 8bn tonnes of CO2 emissions"
... which will translate into around $1.5 TRILLION in global societal costs (in net present value)
www.carbonbrief.org/global-wildf...
"the 2024-25 wildfire season drove more than 8bn tonnes of CO2 emissions"
... which will translate into around $1.5 TRILLION in global societal costs (in net present value)
www.carbonbrief.org/global-wildf...
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
Unfortunately, on federal lands this year we are missing another prescribed fire window because of the government shutdown. We are frittering away opportunity every time we put up additional roadblocks to the use of prescribed fire.
It's the season for prescribed fire - an important step to reducing fuel loads in our forests.
This article from Ecology & Society focuses on RX burns in Greece and how proactive prevention can get lost as a method to reduce catastrophic wildfires.
ecologyandsociety.org/vol30/iss3/a...
This article from Ecology & Society focuses on RX burns in Greece and how proactive prevention can get lost as a method to reduce catastrophic wildfires.
ecologyandsociety.org/vol30/iss3/a...
October 15, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Unfortunately, on federal lands this year we are missing another prescribed fire window because of the government shutdown. We are frittering away opportunity every time we put up additional roadblocks to the use of prescribed fire.
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
“It is unambiguous and it is clear climate change is playing a role. These aren’t just bigger fires, they’re fires occurring under increasingly extreme weather conditions that make them unstoppable.”
“It is unambiguous and it is clear climate change is playing a role. These aren’t just bigger fires, they’re fires occurring under increasingly extreme weather conditions that make them unstoppable.”
Wildfires are getting deadlier and costing more. Experts warn they’re becoming unstoppable
Of 200 fires in the past 44 years, half of the fires that cost US$1bn or more were in the last decade
www.theguardian.com
October 6, 2025 at 7:43 AM
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
“It is unambiguous and it is clear climate change is playing a role. These aren’t just bigger fires, they’re fires occurring under increasingly extreme weather conditions that make them unstoppable.”
“It is unambiguous and it is clear climate change is playing a role. These aren’t just bigger fires, they’re fires occurring under increasingly extreme weather conditions that make them unstoppable.”
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
From Realtor's 2025 Housing and Climate Risk Report:
US homes at "severe or extreme" #climaterisk:
Flood: 6% of homes ($3.4 tr in value, inc. $1 tr outside FEMA flood zones so mostly uninsured)
Wind: 18% of homes ($8 tr)
Wildfire: 5.6% ($3 tr)
www.realtor.com/research/cli...
US homes at "severe or extreme" #climaterisk:
Flood: 6% of homes ($3.4 tr in value, inc. $1 tr outside FEMA flood zones so mostly uninsured)
Wind: 18% of homes ($8 tr)
Wildfire: 5.6% ($3 tr)
www.realtor.com/research/cli...
2025 Realtor.com Housing and Climate Risk Report
Understanding climate risk in the housing market is essential, as these challenges not only affect residential safety but also influence property values, insurance costs, and overall market stability....
www.realtor.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:20 PM
From Realtor's 2025 Housing and Climate Risk Report:
US homes at "severe or extreme" #climaterisk:
Flood: 6% of homes ($3.4 tr in value, inc. $1 tr outside FEMA flood zones so mostly uninsured)
Wind: 18% of homes ($8 tr)
Wildfire: 5.6% ($3 tr)
www.realtor.com/research/cli...
US homes at "severe or extreme" #climaterisk:
Flood: 6% of homes ($3.4 tr in value, inc. $1 tr outside FEMA flood zones so mostly uninsured)
Wind: 18% of homes ($8 tr)
Wildfire: 5.6% ($3 tr)
www.realtor.com/research/cli...
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
1/4
Please see our new paper just published in Global Change Biology: “Intensifying fire season aridity portends ongoing expansion of severe wildfire in western US forests”. 🧪🌍🔥
Please see our new paper just published in Global Change Biology: “Intensifying fire season aridity portends ongoing expansion of severe wildfire in western US forests”. 🧪🌍🔥
Intensifying Fire Season Aridity Portends Ongoing Expansion of Severe Wildfire in Western US Forests
Area burned by wildfire has increased in western US forests over recent decades. However, high-severity fire—fire that kills all or most trees—is also an important metric of fire activity given its d...
doi.org
August 21, 2025 at 6:32 PM
1/4
Please see our new paper just published in Global Change Biology: “Intensifying fire season aridity portends ongoing expansion of severe wildfire in western US forests”. 🧪🌍🔥
Please see our new paper just published in Global Change Biology: “Intensifying fire season aridity portends ongoing expansion of severe wildfire in western US forests”. 🧪🌍🔥
Our paper takes a close look at managing designated wilderness in an era of unprecedented change. Please check it out.
A great achievement by lead author @clareboe.bsky.social!
🧪🌍🔥
A great achievement by lead author @clareboe.bsky.social!
🧪🌍🔥
My research team recently published “Guardians and gardeners: Managing wilderness for the twenty-first century.” If you’re interested in wilderness philosophies, Indigenous stewardship, and the questions raised by climate change and fire - this one’s for you!
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Guardians and gardeners: Managing wilderness for the twenty-first century
PDF | The 1964 Wilderness Act is a landmark piece of legislation, providing robust protections from development, mechanization, and resource extraction... | Find, read and cite all the research you ne...
www.researchgate.net
September 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Our paper takes a close look at managing designated wilderness in an era of unprecedented change. Please check it out.
A great achievement by lead author @clareboe.bsky.social!
🧪🌍🔥
A great achievement by lead author @clareboe.bsky.social!
🧪🌍🔥
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
New Science Advances paper on the feedback loop between loss of snow feeding more wildfire, and wildfire resulting in earlier snowmelt. As to latter, in snow obs, under average conditions, snow melts earlier during 1st-yr postfire in 99%(!) of western snow zones.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Impact of current and warmer climate conditions on snow cover loss in burned forests
Wildfires are causing earlier snowmelt across the western US, and this effect would be exacerbated with projected warmer winters.
www.science.org
September 19, 2025 at 7:14 PM
New Science Advances paper on the feedback loop between loss of snow feeding more wildfire, and wildfire resulting in earlier snowmelt. As to latter, in snow obs, under average conditions, snow melts earlier during 1st-yr postfire in 99%(!) of western snow zones.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by GrumpyUncleSean🔥
What is the cost of wildfire, windthrow and bark beetles for Europe’s forestry? We estimate that disturbances reduce Europe’s forest value by €115 bn, more than doubling to €247 bn under severe climate change. Led by @johannesmohr.bsky.social, out in @natclimate.nature.com doi.org/10.1038/s415...
September 18, 2025 at 9:14 AM
What is the cost of wildfire, windthrow and bark beetles for Europe’s forestry? We estimate that disturbances reduce Europe’s forest value by €115 bn, more than doubling to €247 bn under severe climate change. Led by @johannesmohr.bsky.social, out in @natclimate.nature.com doi.org/10.1038/s415...
The California Fire Science Consortium released a research brief based on our article "Untrammeling the wilderness: restoring natural conditions through the return of human-ignited fire." Check it out! 🧪🔥
static1.squarespace.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The California Fire Science Consortium released a research brief based on our article "Untrammeling the wilderness: restoring natural conditions through the return of human-ignited fire." Check it out! 🧪🔥
New paper by Garret Meigs and friends:
"Big trees burning: Divergent wildfire effects on large trees in open- vs closed-canopy forests"
From my read, one of the key take home messages is that dense forests, even if large trees are present, are still burning with a lot of high-severity effects🧪🌎🔥
"Big trees burning: Divergent wildfire effects on large trees in open- vs closed-canopy forests"
From my read, one of the key take home messages is that dense forests, even if large trees are present, are still burning with a lot of high-severity effects🧪🌎🔥
Big trees burning: Divergent wildfire effects on large trees in open‐ vs. closed‐canopy forests
Wildfire activity has accelerated with climate change, sparking concerns about uncharacteristic impacts on mature and old-growth forests containing large trees. Recent assessments have documented fir...
doi.org
September 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
New paper by Garret Meigs and friends:
"Big trees burning: Divergent wildfire effects on large trees in open- vs closed-canopy forests"
From my read, one of the key take home messages is that dense forests, even if large trees are present, are still burning with a lot of high-severity effects🧪🌎🔥
"Big trees burning: Divergent wildfire effects on large trees in open- vs closed-canopy forests"
From my read, one of the key take home messages is that dense forests, even if large trees are present, are still burning with a lot of high-severity effects🧪🌎🔥