The Cal Poly Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Institute has formed a strategic alliance with the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) to further Cal Poly’s mission of developing holistic solutions to prevent destructive wildfires and help build more resilient communities. The alliance with the WFCA supports Cal Poly’s interdisciplinary efforts to facilitate research, education, training and the outreach needed to address the catastrophic and growing problem of wildland-urban interface fires in California and beyond. Cal Poly’s WUI Fire Institute and the WFCA will collaborate on mitigation efforts from analysis to management, with the overall goal of providing solutions that reduce the threat to those living in WUI communities.

The alliance follows the hiring of retired fire chief Frank Frievalt as the director of Cal Poly’s WUI Fire Institute in April. Frievalt previously served as fire chief for the Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District, division chief of operations for the Sparks Fire Department and in various other leadership roles for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Nevada and California State Fire Chiefs Associations and the University of Nevada, Reno.

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