The Biobío Region was the setting for a key milestone of the 2nd Chile–California Mission: the first-ever edition of the Chile–California Conference on Wildfire Prevention, Response, and New Technologies held in the Macrozona Sur. The event, organized in collaboration with CORMA and hosted at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Humanities and Arts at the University of Concepción, brought together regional authorities, experts from Chile and California, academics, firefighters, and representatives from the forestry sector. The hall was completely full, reflecting the strong public interest in strengthening local wildfire preparedness and resilience.
The conference featured the high-level delegation from CAL FIRE, led by Daniel Berlant, State Fire Marshal; Nathan Barclay, Deputy Director for Fire Protection; and Helen Lopez, Deputy Director of Tribal Affairs, along with Brian Collins of AirFire Alliance, Christopher Anthony of FireWerx, and Andrew Karn of Seneca.
From Chile, the speakers included Andrea Rodríguez, Vice President for Research and Development at UdeC; Rolando Pardo of CONAF; Alejandro Sandoval, Regional Director of SENAPRED Biobío; and Ramón Figueroa Lizana, Wildfire Manager at CORMA.
The event concluded with a joint discussion among the speakers, delving into key priorities for strengthening regional resilience: territorial planning, community education, the integration of new technologies, international cooperation, and deeper institutional coordination.
The conference was part of a broader program that included technical field visits with Arauco and CMPC, where the delegation from Chile and California was able to directly observe technologies, operations, and wildfire management models applied in Biobío’s forest landscapes. This coordinated work allowed both territories to advance in shared diagnostics and future areas of collaboration.
Hosting this conference in Biobío marks an important step toward decentralizing Chile–California cooperation and strengthening regional wildfire management capacities—one of the most pressing climate challenges shared by both regions.
