FFS Research Forester Mark Finney, Missoula, is one of three recipients of the 2019 Ember Award presented by the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF). IAWF presents this award annually to recognize sustained achievement in wildland fire science. Among his many achievements, the IAWF recognized Mark for the development of FARSITE, regarded as the most successful and widely used wildfire behavior model in the world, as well as the development of numerous other models and tools used by the wildland fire community. These include FlamMap, the Wildland Fire Investment System (WFIPS), the Fire Spread Probability Model (FSPro), and his role in the development of tools available in the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS).
Award winners received their notification at the 6th Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference in April 2019. As Mark was out of the country at the time, he received his award at an event in his honor from Tom Zimmerman, current president of IAWF, on June 17 in Missoula. Read the IAWF write up honoring Mark and all the 2019 Ember Award recipients here.
