UBC experts are available to comment on wildfires and associated issues.
Climate change, forests and wildfires
Dr. Lori Daniels
Professor, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Email: lori.daniels@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Wildfires and wildfire management
- Forest fires, past and present
- Impacts of climate change on forests
Dr. Greg Garrard (he/him)
Professor, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
Tel: 250-863-2822
Email: greg.garrard@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Environmental literature
- Culture and climate change (including skepticism)
- Cultural ecology of wildfire
- Political polarization
Dr. John Innes
Professor, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 604-603-5916
Interview language(s): English
- Climate change and wildfires, boreal forests, forest management
Fire behaviour and wildfire management
Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais
Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Email: Mathieu.Bourbonnais@ubc.ca
Tel: 778-583-0272
Interview language(s): English, written French
- Wildfire risk and fire suppression and mitigation
- Firefighting and use of satellites for wildfire detection and monitoring
Dr. Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz (she/her)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Tel: 604-363-9863
Email: kelsey.copes-gerbitz@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Proactive wildfire management, coexisting with wildfires, sharing responsibility for wildfire management
- Community wildfire resilience
- Historical fires and wildfire management
Dr. Kevin Hanna
Associate Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Tel: 250-807-9265
Email: kevin.hanna@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Vulnerable infrastructure
- Risk and disaster assessment wildfire management and policy
- Climate change and risk events
Dr. Kira Hoffman
Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 250-876-8440
Email: kira.hoffman@bvcentre.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Fire behaviour, pyrodiversity and prescribed burning
Dr. David Scott
Associate Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
Email: david.scott@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Effects of wildfire on hydrology and erosion
- Evaluation of fire site rehabilitation methods in terms of controlling erosion and sedimentation
Note: Dr. Scott is only available for interviews via email
Dr. Dwayne Tannant
Professor, School of Engineering
Tel: 604-801-4301
Email: dwayne.tannant@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Landslides, rockfalls
- Below debris field flood mitigation
- Post-wildfire debris flow mitigation
Health impacts of wildfires and extreme conditions
Dr. Philip Ainslie
Professor, School of Health and Exercise Sciences
Tel: 250-878-6171
Email: philip.ainslie@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Heat, pollution and their isolated and combined influence on physiology and health
- Effect of temperature and oxygen availability on physiology, pathology and performance
- Acclimatization, adaptation and maladaptation to environmental stress
Dr. Michael Brauer
Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: michael.brauer@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Health effects of extreme heat, approaches to minimize impacts
- Air quality and health impacts from smoke
- How to minimize exposure to smoke
Dr. Emily Brigham
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Email: emily.brigham@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Lung health, asthma and COPD, pollutant exposures from wildfires, co-exposure with heat
Dr. Christopher Carlsten
Physician; Professor and Head of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine
Tel: 604-839-1561
Email: christopher.carlsten@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Adverse health effects related to heat, smoke, ozone and allergens
- How heat, smoke, ozone and allergens are climate-change related
Dr. Sarah Henderson
Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Tel: 604-910-9144
Email: sarah.henderson@bccdc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Health impacts of wildfire smoke and extreme heat and ways to protect health
*unavailable until June 18
Dr. Mary-Ann Murphy
Associate Professor, School of Social Work and the Department of Sociology
Tel: 250-807-8705
Email: mary-ann.murphy@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Dealing with the emotional trauma of wildfires
- Lessons from evacuees
- What to pack when evacuating
- Caring for seniors in extreme heat
Dr. Michael Schwandt
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health; Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health
Email: michael.schwandt@vch.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Health impacts of wildfire smoke
- Community and personal actions for health protection
Dr. Angela Yao
Adjunct Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: angela.yao@bccdc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Mandarin, Cantonese
- Health impacts of wildfire smoke
Wildlife and ecosystem impacts
Jen Baron (she/her)
PhD Candidate, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Email: jenbaron@mail.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Wildfire ecology and management, past and present
- Forest fire behaviour, fire risk and fuel treatments
- Climate change impacts on wildfires
Dr. Sarah Dickson-Hoyle (she/her)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Email: sarah.dickson-hoyle@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Wildfire recovery
- Ecological impacts of wildfires
- Community wildfire resilience and proactive approaches
Dr. Karen Hodges (she/her)
Professor, UBC Okanagan Department of Biology
Tel: 250-807-8763
Email: karen.hodges@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Post-fire habitats
- Wildlife impacts from heat, drought and fire
- Salvage logging and impacts on wildlife
Dr. Alison McAfee
Postdoctoral Fellow, Michael Smith Laboratories and North Carolina State University
Tel: 778-995-2151
Email: alison.n.mcafee@gmail.com
Interview language(s): English
- Honey bee biology and fertility
- Impact of high temperatures on bee fertility and survival
Dr. Matthew Mitchell (he/him)
Research Associate, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Tel: 778-580-8222
Email: matthew.mitchell@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Biodiversity, smoke/pollutant impacts on animal activity, ecosystem services
*unavailable June 21-Sept. 5
Disaster planning and governance
Dr. Michael Hooper (he/him)
Associate Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning
Email: michael.hooper@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Disaster response, rebuilding, cities and risk, disaster planning and governance
*away for much of July
Dr. Sara Shneiderman (she/her)
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Email: sara.shneiderman@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Social elements of disaster preparedness and response
- Disaster governance
Dr. Babak Mohamadpour Tosarkani
Assistant Professor, UBCO School of Engineering
Tel: 647-551-7732
Email: babak.tosarkani@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English
- Emergency supply chain preparedness
Economic impact
Dr. Werner Antweiler
Associate Professor, Sauder School of Business
Email: werner.antweiler@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, German
- Economic costs of wildfires including higher insurance costs