Nowadays many people get together in social networks, which is also a place where you seek information about current events. It’s possible to ask questions and communicate in real time which can be useful in case of crisis. Content in social network is generated by users which also could make it a place for spreading of rumors. The purpose of this work was to investigate the use of social networks and its importance and limitations during the different phases of a crisis. The research was a case study where The use of social networks during the wildfires in Pålgård in the summer of 2018 was investigated. Data collection was performed by interviews, documentary research of social networks and background information. The interviewees’ respondents have been appointed through exploratory selection. Four respondents represent different actors who collaborated during the forest fire in Pålgård 2018. One of the respondents administers a Facebook group that was frequently used during the event. The last respondent is a private person who is also the station manager’s siblings. This respondent initially helped the sibling to coordinate volunteer efforts in the abovementioned Facebook group. Social media has a great potential when it comes to reaching out to many in a short time. Regarding the forest fire in Pålgård, Facebook has primarily been used to share information, coordinate efforts, offer help and questions. Even traditional media uses their Facebook channels to share their news. In order to avoid speculation and misunderstanding, which can lead to rumor spread, it is of great importance that there is accurate and reliable information available to the public, and that their questions are answered. This is something social media can be used for. / Sociala medier är idag en mötesplats för många människor, och även en plats där information söks om aktuella händelser. Det är möjligt att ställa frågor och kommunicera i realtid vilket kan vara värdefullt vid en krissituation. Men innehåll i sociala medier är också användargenererat vilket kan göra det till en plats för ryktesspridning. Syftet med föreliggande arbete var att undersöka sociala mediers användning, betydelse och begränsningar för kommunikation och informationsdelning under en kris olika faser. Forskningen har bedrivits i form av en fallstudie där sociala mediers användning vid skogsbranden i Pålgård 2018 belysts. Datainsamling har skett genom intervjuer, dokumentär forskning av sociala medier och bakgrundsinformation. Intervjuernas respondenter har utsetts genom explorativt val. Fyra respondenter representerar olika aktörer som samverkade under skogsbranden i Pålgård 2018. En respondent administrerar en Facebookgrupp som användes flitigt under händelsen. Den sista respondenten är en privatperson som också är stationschefens syskon. Denna respondent hjälpte i början sitt syskon att samordna frivilliginsatser i ovannämnda Facebookgrupp. Sociala medier har en stor potential när det gäller att nå ut till många på kort tid. Beträffande skogsbranden vid Pålgård har framförallt Facebook använts till att dela med sig av information, samordna insatser, erbjuda hjälp samt ställa och besvara frågor. Även traditionell media använder sina Facebookkanaler till att dela sina nyheter. För att undvika spekulationer och missförstånd vilket i förlängningen kan leda till ryktesspridning är det av stor vikt att det finns korrekt och pålitlig information tillgänglig för allmänheten, och att frågor blir besvarade. Detta är något sociala medier med fördel kan användas till.

In 2018, forest fires occurred in Sweden, which put high pressure on rescue services and society. Several parts of the country were subject to a fire ban. The purpose of the document study is to investigate whether forest fires could become a continuous danger for municipalities and their inhabitants in the future. The study also strives to investigate measures to combat forest fires and whether these measures are adequate. In order to work in the right direction and not lose course, three questions were asked, "What patterns do we see overtime regarding forest fires?", "What measures have been taken to combat forest fires?" and "Are measures against forest fires sufficient?". These issues helped to select research evidence and the right empirical material.With critical realism as a scientific approach, the problems with forest fires were highlighted and research work started. By applying applied geography / forest geography, its causes and risks could be studied. With the mapping / mapping, the potential forest fire risk could be mapped in the future. Following a survey of potential forest fire risk in the future, it turned out that Skåne risks being most affected by forest fires due to changing climate in the region. This made the study limited to Skåne. The County Administrative Board of Skåne's risk and vulnerability analysis for 2014 and the Land use plan for Östra Göinge became the documents that were analyzed in this document study. By analyzing the risk and vulnerability analysis, it explains what risks are considered to be a potential danger, how the danger is mitigated and how resources and measures are prioritized. In the overview plan we can see if the forest fire risk was taken into account and if so how. This study shows that the risk of forest fires will increase in the future due to. changing weather conditions. It also shows that risk and vulnerability analysis do not take into account the change, the increased risk and lack a long-term perspective on risk and vulnerability. The study also shows that information on what are forest fire influencing factors such as weather, vegetation and topography are not taken into account. Land use plans need to pay more attention to forest fire risk and report measures to combat it. Keywords: Forest fire, Risk, Fire risk, Physical planning, Risk analysis / 2018 förekom skogsbränder i Sverige vilket satte hög press på räddningstjänst och samhället. Flera delar av landet rådde eldningsförbud. Syftet med dokumentstudien är att undersöka om skogsbränderna kan komma att bli en kontinuerlig fara för kommuner och dess invånare i framtiden. Studien strävar även efter att undersöka åtgärder för bekämpning av skogsbränder samt om dessa åtgärder är tillräckliga. För att arbeta mot rätt riktning och inte tappa kurs sattes tre frågeställningar, ”Vilka mönster ser vi övertid gällande skogsbränder?”, ”Vilka åtgärder har vidtagits för att bekämpa skogsbränder?” och ”Är åtgärder mot skogsbränder tillräckliga?”. Dessa frågeställningar hjälpte till med att välja forskningsunderlag och rätt empiriskt material. Med kritisk realism som vetenskapligt angreppssätt uppmärksammades problematiken med skogsbränder och forskningsarbetet påbörjades. Genom att tillämpa applied geography/tillämpad geography kunde skogsbränder, dess orsaker och risker studeras. Med mapping/kartläggning kunde den potentiella skogsbrandsrisken i framtiden kartläggas. Efter kartläggning av potentiell skogsbrandsrisk i framtiden visade det sig att Skåne riskerar att drabbas mest av skogsbränder pga. förändrat klimat i regionen. Detta gjorde att studien avgränsades till Skåne. Länsstyrelsen Skånes risk- och sårbarhetsanalys för 2014 och Översiktsplan för Östra Göinge blev dokumenten som analyserades i denna dokumentstudie. Genom att analysera risk- och sårbarhetsanalysen, förklaras vilka risker som bedöms vara en potentiell fara, hur faran motarbetas samt hur resurser och åtgärder prioriteras. I översiktsplanen kan vi se om skogsbrandsrisken beaktats och i så fall hur. Denna studie påvisar att risken för skogsbränder kommer att öka i framtiden pga. förändrade väderförhållanden. Den visar även att risk- och sårbarhetsanalys inte beaktar förändringen, den ökade risken samt saknar ett långsiktigt perspektiv på risk och sårbarhet. Studien visar även att information om vad som är skogsbrandspåverkande faktorer som väder, vegetation och topografi inte beaktas. Översiktsplaner behöver uppmärksamma skogsbrandsrisken mer och redovisa åtgärder för att bekämpa den. Nyckelord: Skogsbrand, Risk, Brandrisk, Fysisk planering, Riskanalys

When a devastating event such as a forest fire occurs, multiple actions have to be taken. The first priority is to ensure people's safety during the fire, then the fire has to be kept under control and finally extinguished. After all of this, what remains is a damaged area in the forest. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate medium and high-resolution satellite imagery for the classification of different burn severities in a wildfire damaged forest. The classification can then be used to plan where to focus restoration efforts after the fire to achieve a safe and economically beneficial usage of the affected area. Trängslet fire in Dalarna and Lillhärdal fire in Härjedalen, the two of the 2018 forest fire sites in Sweden were chosen for this study. Satellite imagery over both study areas at medium spatial resolution from Sentinel-2 were acquired pre-fire in early July, 2018 and post-fire on October 2, 2018 while imagery at high spatial resolution from Pleiades were acquired on September 13, 2018. Image processing, analysis and classification were performed using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and PCI Geomatica. To ensure the quality of the classifications, field data were collected during a field trip to the Lillhärdal area using Open Data Kit (ODK). ODK was used since it is an application that can collect/store georeferenced information and images. The result that this thesis found is that while both the medium and high-resolution classifications achieved accurate results, the Sentinel-2 classification is the most suited method in most cases since it is an easy and automated classification using differential Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) compared to the Pleiades classification where a lot of manual work has to be put in. There are however cases where the Pleiades classification would be preferable, such as when the affected area usually is obscured by clouds and Sentinel-2 thus finds it hard to achieve good images and when a good spatial resolution is required to more easily display the classification with the original image. The most accurate result according to the data collected at the site in Lillhärdal also showed that the Pleiades classification had a precise match of 61.54% and a plausible match of 92.31%. This can be compared to the Sentinel-2 classification that had a precise match of 48.72% and a plausible match of 94.87%. These percentages are based on the visual analysis of collected images at the Lillhärdal site compared to the classifications. This thesis could have been improved if more information regarding the groundwork that had been done after the fire, but before the acquiring of the satellite imagery, were available. The result would also most likely be better if a satellite with better spatial resolution than Sentinel-2 but still with near infrared and short-wave infrared bands would have been used. The reason being that dNBR, which gave a good result, only needs those two bands.

Using autonomous miniature air vehicles (MAVs) is a cost-effective, simple method for collecting data about the size, shape, and location characteristics of a forest fire. However, noise in measurements used to compute pose (location and attitude) of the on-board camera leads to significant errors in the processing of collected video data. Typical methods using MAVs to track fires attempt to find single geolocation estimates and filter that estimate with subsequent observations. While this is an effective method of resolving the noise to achieve a better geolocation estimate, it reduces a fire to a single point or small set of points. A georeferenced mosaic is a more effective method for presenting information about a fire to fire fighters. It provides a means of presenting size, shape, and geolocation information simultaneously. We describe a novel technique to account for uncertainty in pose estimation of the camera by converting it to the image domain. We also introduce a new concept, a Georeferenced Uncertainty Mosaic (GUM), in which we utilize a Sequential Monte Carlo method (a particle filter) to resolve that uncertainty and construct a georeferenced mosaic that simultaneously shows size, shape, geolocation, and uncertainty information about the fire.

Naturvårdsbränning är en åtgärd som avser att återskapa effekterna avnaturliga skogsbränder genom att påverka det ekologiska systemet. Trotsfördelarna föreligger risker, såsom oönskad eskalering och spridning av eld,rök och glöd, vilket kan negativt påverka mark, människor och samhällen.Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur ansvariga inom Länsstyrelsen hanterarrisker genom identifiering av kritiska incidenter utifrån Critical IncidentTechnique (CIT) baserad på intervjuer, samt att bidra till att öka den allmännakunskapen kring åtgärden.Resultatet visade att naturvårdsbränningsansvariga tar stor hänsyn till riskeroch arbetar kontinuerligt för att minimera dem. Dock identifierades treförbättringsområden inom riskhanteringsarbetet: säkerhet under bränningar,kommunikation under bränningar och kommunikation med samhället.Förbättringar inom dessa områden kan minimera risker under bränningar,minska oron i samhället och antalet falsklarm samt öka tryggheten igenomförandet för allmänheten och naturvårdsbränningspersonal vidnaturvårdsbränningar. / Hållbart sambruk av räddningsaktörer i svensk landsbygd

Ett förändrat klimat ökar risken för fler frekventa skogsbränder, skogsbränder som spås vara mer intensiva än tidigare sett. Det här ger ett behov av att ha en fungerande katastrofhantering när en skogsbrand sker. Krav ställs även på ledande aktörer att besitta den kunskap och erfarenhet som krävs för att kunna hantera en omfattande skogsbrand. Det ställer även krav på att identifiera och bemöta de olika behov som kan uppstå vid en katastrof, samt ge samtliga drabbade samma möjligheter och en jämlik resursfördelning.   Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur resursfördelningen såg ut mellan personal, samt undersöka hur exponerade boende samt skogsägare informerats och omhändertagits under skogsbranden. Den metod som använts för denna studie är en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med en induktiv ansats, där två rapporter om skogsbranden analyserades. Resultatet visade att det fanns en snedvriden resursfördelning mellan brandmännen och administrativ personal, där brandmännen tilldelades flest resurser. Resultatet visade även att skogsägarna omhändertogs väl och fick särskilda informationsplatser, samtidigt som exponerade boende utsattes för onödiga risker vid evakueringarna som skedde. Boende som inte talade svenska fick i vissa områden tillgång till information och stöd men var bristfälligt i andra områden. / A changing climate increases the risk of more frequent forest fires, forest fires that are predicted to be more intense than previously seen. This creates a need to have a functioning disaster management system when a forest fire occurs. Demands are also placed on leading actors to possess the knowledge and experience required to be able to handle an extensive forest fire. It also requires identifying and responding to the various needs that may arise in the event of a disaster, as well as giving all those affected the same opportunities and an equal distribution of resources.   The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the distribution of resources looked between personnel, as well as investigate how exposed residents and forest owners were informed and taken care of during the forest fire. The method used for this study is a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach, where two reports about the forest fire were analyzed. The result showed that there was a skewed distribution of resources between the firefighters and administrative staff, where the firefighters were allocated the most resources. The result also showed that the forest owners were well taken care of and given special information points, while exposed residents were exposed to unnecessary risks during the evacuations that took place. Residents who did not speak Swedish had access to information and support in some areas but were inadequate in other areas.

This research investigates soil respiration (Rs) in a boreal jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) fire scar chronosequence at Sharpsand Creek, Ontario, Canada. During two field campaigns in 2006 and 2007, Rs was measured in a chronosequence of fire scars in the range 0 to 59 years since fire. Mean Rs adjusted for soil temperature (Ts) and soil moisture (Ms) (Rs T,M) ranged from 0.56 μmol CO2/m2/s (32 years post fire) to 8.18 μmol CO2/m2/s (58 years post fire). Coefficient of variation (CV) of Rs adjusted for Ts and Ms ranged from 20% (16 years post fire) to 56% (58 years post fire). Across the field site, there was a significant exponential relationship between Rs adjusted for soil organic carbon (Cs) and Ts (P = 1.24*10-06; Q10 = 2.21) but no effect of Ms on Rs adjusted for Cs and Ts for the range 0.21 to 0.77 volumetric Ms (P = 0.702). Rs T,M significantly (P = 0.030) decreased after burning mature forest, though no significant (P > 0.1) difference could be detected between recently burned and unburned young forest. Rs was measured in recently burned boreal jack pine fire scar age categories that differed in their burn history and there was a significant difference in Rs T,M between previously 32 v 16 year old (P = 0.000) and previously 32 v 59 year old (P = 0.044) scars. There was a strong significant exponential increase in S R T,M with time since fire (r2 = 0.999; P = 0.006) for the chronosequence 0, 16 and 59 years post fire, and for all these age categories, Rs T,M was significantly different from one another (P < 0.05). The Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) was used to model vegetation re-growth over successional time at Sharpsand Creek, though it appeared to perform poorly in simulating leaf area index and canopy height. JULES probably over estimated heterotrophic Rs at Sharpsand Creek when Ts corrected simulated values were compared with measured Rs T,M. The results of this study contribute to a better quantitative understanding of Rs in boreal jack pine fire scars and will facilitate improvements in C cycle modelling. Further work is needed in quantifying autotrophic and heterotrophic contributions to soil respiration in jack pine systems, monitoring soil respiration for extended time periods after fire and improving the ability of JULES to simulate successional vegetation re-growth.

La thèse a pour objectif de participer à l’étude de l’Union européenne et à celle des relations internationales en ciblant spécifiquement la régulation du secteur forêt-bois-papier. La question de fond est de savoir comment la gestion des forêts est construite en problème public européen. Prenant acte d’un agenda mondial qui donne à voir un problème forestier globalisé et des processus de gouvernance opposant multilatéralisme et acteurs transnationaux, la thèse propose de porter la focale sur les acteurs européens qui définissent et politisent les enjeux forestiers selon leur propre relation à la ressource. Pour ce faire, le travail de recherche s’appuie sur une hypothèse centrale selon laquelle l’institutionnalisation des territoires forestiers constitue une ressource d’action publique pour les acteurs face à la régulation politique multiscalaire. Afin de mettre en avant la capacité des acteurs européens à circuler parmi les échelles de régulation pour participer à la construction des politiques publiques sectorielles, la thèse s’appuie sur un cadre théorique empruntant aux Théories des relations internationales et à l’Analyse des politiques publiques. Forte d’une telle grille d’analyse sociologisée, une seconde partie s’articule autour de trois études de cas de politiques européennes de la forêt (la protection des forêts contre les feux, la valorisation énergétique de la biomasse forestière et la lutte contre le commerce international de bois illégal). Au total, elles montrent toutes trois la capacité des acteurs locaux à territorialiser des enjeux globalisés de gestion d’une ressource naturelle. / This work aims at contributing to the study of the European Union and International Relations. Through analyzing the regulation of forest-based industries and the globalization of forest issues, the aim is to identify how both have been constructed as a European public problem. This is implemented around a central hypothesis: forest territories are institutionalized by actors who participate in its regulation. In order to ascertain the ability of actors to move between scales of regulation, the thesis is grounded on theoretical tools derived from the Theories of international relations and Public policy analysis. After a first part dedicated to defining this approach, a second is presents three case studies of European public policy (forest protection against fire, t renewable energy and actions to counter the trade of illegal wood). In sum, each one shows the ability of actors to territorialize a globalized forest issue.

The tsunami in Thailand in 2004, 9/11 and hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2005 are all reminders that no organization is immune to crises, which also means that all organizations should be prepared and know how to handle a crisis if one was to occur.   A case study has been conducted, on a crisis regarding a fire that occurred on the 31st of July 2014 in Västmanland, Sweden. Through Qualitative interviews empirical data was gathered and then analyzed together with our theories and previous research. The purpose of the study is to analyze how the municipalities affected and the County Administrative Board of Sweden handled and communicated with/to the public during the fire that spread in Västmanland 2014.   Our study shows that a risk analysis and analysis of surroundings is crucial in anticipating a crisis event and that it is essential for organizations to undergo training to prepare organization members on how to handle a crisis. Another conclusion is that the need for information is large during a crisis event and grows throughout the entire course of the crisis. The crisis that we studied had a lack of information, but at the same time the public’s need for information is a need that can’t be satisfied during a crisis. And if the organizations concerned do not satisfy the public’s need for information, rumors will start to disseminate to cater to the public’s needs. Rumors have always been a part of crisis communication but has with today’s technologies assumed a digital form which means that they can spread to a wider group of people. The digital and social media constituted of an essential tool for the affected stakeholders crisis communication and the local radio played an important role in managing the crisis.

Bushfires are an integral part of the Australian environment, and consequently Australian fire fighters are regularly confronted with the challenge of bushfire fighting activities. Bushfires can be extensive and long-lasting, and as a result fire fighters can be exposed to bushfire smoke for long periods without respite. Anecdotal evidence suggests that bushfire smoke exposure can lead to respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. In an optimal environment, fire fighters are equipped with respirators and protective filters to prevent the inhalation of the air toxics in bushfire smoke. Yet, reports from the fire ground indicate that the protective filters are not effective in preventing the inhalation of bushfire smoke. As a result, fire fighters have increasingly expressed concern about the ineffective equipment and the resultant respiratory symptoms during and after bushfire fighting. This research aims to establish a scientific data base to support the anecdotal evidence. The objectives of the research were: (1) to identify and quantify the air toxics in Western Australian bushfire smoke; (2) to profile the acute respiratory health effects associated with bushfire smoke exposure; (3) to assess the effectiveness of three different types of filters under controlled conditions in a smoke chamber, and in the field during fuel reduction burn-off; (4) to formulate recommendations for reducing fire fighters' exposure to bushfire smoke; and (5) to inform policy decision makers about the most effective form of respiratory protective equipment for bushfire fighting. Exposure trials were conducted in an experimental setting utilising bushfire smoke conditions in a smoke chamber and during prescribed burn-offs. Repeated measurements of respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function and oximetry were undertaken before and after bushfire smoke exposure. In addition, personal air sampling inside the respirators was undertaken to quantify and compare the levels of filtered air toxics. The analysis of the collected data demonstrated that, of those compared, the particulate/organic vapour formaldehyde filter was most effective in protecting fire fighters' respiratory health during the smoke exposure period of maximally 120 minutes. Further research would be useful to determine the v effectiveness of the filters under more realistic conditions during bushfire fighting activities. The findings of this research have resulted in a policy review in Western Australia. In 2006, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA) reviewed its Bush Fire Smoke Exposure Standard Operational Procedures 51, and now issues the recommended particulate/organic vapour/formaldehyde filters to the 1,000 FESA career fire fighters. The use of protective equipment for bushfire fighters is inadequately regulated worldwide and the recommendation implemented by FESA can be seen as proactive and in advance of national and international best practice. In conclusion, this project was instrumental in the translation of public health research into best practice that protects occupational health, without the need for the lengthy process of legislative reform. Fire fighter organisations in other countries with high frequencies of bushfires could learn from this example, and move to review their policies and introduce adequate personal protection for fire fighters.