Wildfire preparedness webinars start April 30: free online training from UW Extension

The University of Wyoming Extension is rolling out a free, six-part Zoom webinar series starting Thursday, April 30, designed to help residents prepare for, respond to and recover from wildfires. With fire season on the horizon, the sessions aim to translate technical guidance into practical steps for homeowners, ranchers and community leaders across the state.

Each session will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 to 7:30 p.m., pairing a roughly one-hour presentation with a 30-minute question-and-answer segment. The program mixes local case studies with broadly applicable advice about reducing risk at the household level, protecting livestock and understanding public-health implications of smoke and postfire conditions.

Organizers — UW Extension educators Peyton Loss and Mallery Larson — say the series is intended to move people from worry to action by sharing clear, local-minded information and connections to resources. “We want residents to leave with practical steps they can use today,” Loss said, noting the emphasis on community collaboration and preparedness.

What each session covers

• April 30: Integrated fuels management strategies for the Wind River and Big Horn basins — presented by Rance Neighbors, fuels program manager with the Bureau of Land Management. Expect an overview of vegetation treatments and landscape-level risk reduction.
• May 7: Community-scale planning for wildfire risk — led by Matt Hamilton, UW’s Eldon and Beverly Spicer Chair in Environment and Natural Resources, focusing on collaborative approaches that bring municipalities, districts and landowners together.
• May 14: Smoke and grazing impacts — Barton Stam (UW Extension) and Amy Skibiel (University of Idaho) will discuss how wildfire smoke and postfire grazing affect livestock health and grazing management.
• May 21: Practical home protection measures — Robb Sgroi, a land resources specialist with the Teton County Conservation District, will outline defensible-space practices and other steps homeowners can take to reduce fire risk.
• May 28: A 2024 case study from Sheridan County — Edward Hinzman, Sheridan County public health response coordinator, will walk through lessons learned from the Elk Fire response and recovery.
• June 4: Wildfire effects on wildlife habitat — Tim Kramer, state coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, will examine both short- and long-term habitat changes after fires.

Sessions are free and open to the public via Zoom. Registration and speaker bios are available on the University of Wyoming Extension website; attendees are encouraged to register in advance so organizers can share materials and any follow-up resources.

Who should tune in — and why it matters now

The series is relevant to a wide range of Wyoming residents. Briefly:

• Homeowners: Learn defensible-space techniques and what to expect during evacuations.
• Ranchers and livestock managers: Get guidance on smoke exposure, animal health and postfire grazing decisions.
• Local officials and planners: Find model approaches for collaborative, community-level risk reduction.

Beyond individual preparedness, speakers aim to surface actionable steps communities can take to limit long-term damage to habitat, infrastructure and public health. The inclusion of recent local incidents — including the 2024 Elk Fire case study — ensures the advice is grounded in events Wyoming residents have faced firsthand.

For people seeking targeted guidance, the Q&A portion after each presentation provides a chance to pose specific concerns to subject-matter experts. That practical interaction is a central feature of the series, organizers say, because wildfire response often depends on quick, informed decisions at the local level.

If you want to participate, visit the University of Wyoming Extension website to register for one or more sessions and to review detailed speaker information and resources provided for each topic.