Award Abstract # 2220625
NNA Research: Collaborative Research: Foundations for Improving Resilience in the Energy Sector against Wildfires on Alaskan Lands (FIREWALL)

NSF Org: RISE
Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER)
Recipient: WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: August 8, 2022
Latest Amendment Date: August 8, 2022
Award Number: 2220625
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Kendra McLauchlan
kmclauch@nsf.gov
 (703)292-2217
RISE
 Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER)
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: September 1, 2022
End Date: August 31, 2026 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $344,324.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $344,324.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2022 = $344,324.00
History of Investigator:
  • Claire Richards (Principal Investigator)
    claire.richards@wsu.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Washington State University
240 FRENCH ADMINISTRATION BLDG
PULLMAN
WA  US  99164-0001
(509)335-9661
Sponsor Congressional District: 05
Primary Place of Performance: Washington State University
280 Lighty
PULLMAN
WA  US  99164-1060
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
05
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): XRJSGX384TD6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): NNA-Navigating the New Arctic
Primary Program Source: 01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 072Z, 5294
Program Element Code(s): 104Y00
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. This Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, enhances efforts in formal and informal education, and integrates the co-production of knowledge where appropriate. This award fulfills part of that aim by addressing interactions among social systems, natural environment, and built environment in the following NNA focus areas: Arctic Residents, Data and Observation, Forecasting, and Resilient Infrastructure.

In recent years, Alaska has witnessed high-intensity wildfires that often grow to tens or hundreds of thousand acres within days, both in remote, sparsely populated rural areas and close to population centers. Wildfires are projected to increase due to climate change and present new and emerging risks to Alaskan energy infrastructure and communities needing electricity for daily life and health services. Alaska is especially vulnerable to wildfires due to its isolated electricity grid, fire-prone boreal forests, and extreme fire behavior, as well as the critical dependence of its rural communities on electricity for health and year-round food supply. There is an urgent need to empower Arctic communities, electric utilities, emergency responders, and health organizations to collaboratively share resources and exchange information for improved situational awareness and resilience against wildfires. The FIREWALL research project will advance the knowledge on (1) how elements of the natural environment, energy infrastructure, and social systems interact with one another before, during, and following wildfires, and (2) how to enable a collaborative framework for decision-making and communication among multi-sectoral stakeholders to reduce wildfire risks faced by communities and electric utilities.

The FIREWALL project will develop a risk-informed decision-making platform that integrates (1) formation, short-term prediction, and spatiotemporal propagation analysis of wildfires on Alaskan lands, (2) Alaska?s electricity network planning, preparedness, response, and mitigation facing wildfires, and (3) community health and social vulnerability metrics. The project will establish a shared understanding of the problem by engaging in focus groups, listening sessions, and surveys with community partners. The decision-making platform will be evaluated in a range of short-term and long-term use cases for the electric utilities, forestry managers, and emergency responders under different fire regimes, and will be tested in a number of wildfire-prone geographical zones in Alaska. The project outcomes will bridge the gap between social and environmental challenges with community-in-the-loop engineering solutions for wildfire resilience, and provide Arctic residents with numerous educational opportunities. The education activities include outreach to K-12 teachers and students, and training the multi-sectoral stakeholders using the FIREWALL platform products to facilitate a smooth transition for deployment in practice. The project will have the potential to form holistic integrated roadmaps that can enhance public safety and resilience of the mission-critical lifeline infrastructure in Alaska and beyond when facing future wildfire disasters.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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