Gwen Michael-Jones ’14 is a climate resiliency consultant who, for the past few years, has also worked as a wildland firefighter in California.
Michael-Jones studied political science and geology at Bryn Mawr and earned her master’s in international relations and security studies at University College London.
“I have always had this running thread, ever since I was really young, in being interested in what is happening all over the world and what we can do to make things better,” Michael-Jones says.
As a consultant, she works with nonprofits and small businesses to develop, fund, and expand sustainable and climate-aware programs. She took last year off to work as a volunteer coordinator for the Harris/Walz campaign in North Carolina. Anticipating cuts to the Department of the Interior, she didn’t reapply for her wildland firefighting position with the Bureau of Land Management and is currently applying to work with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“The land I protect is not on postcards,” she says, “people are not going on scenic byways to take weekend trips to the land I protect, but it’s crucial to the ecosystem.”
In January, as fires raged around Los Angeles, she volunteered with the emergency response in San Diego.
In a Q&A, Michael-Jones shared more about her work and research, information about the increased threat posed by wildfires, and how people can prepare for a hotter and more dangerous future.
Tell us about your area of research and why it interests you.
"My area of research is usually referred to as 'global catastrophic risks.' As an environmentalist since I was young, and having a background in environmental sciences, I believe climate change is going to dictate all of the crises we see in the future. For decades, in the broader field of political science, climate change has been relegated to a variable. But I am convinced it is the driving force and something that is the primary threat multiplier for other risks.
My undergrad thesis examined the ‘Arctic scramble’ and what would happen when Arctic ice began receding to the point where minerals could be extracted. Oddly enough, when I wrote this in 2014, I even predicted that other countries would be interested in taking over Greenland—and we are seeing that now.
We humans have faced seemingly insurmountable changes, but never with a confounding factor like climate change in the mix. So, a lot of my research is looking at the future with climate change as a global, trans-generational risk in mind. Where can we mitigate threats? How can we adapt? Where can we make the most impact? What are fields where we can really expect to see dividends from any work we put in? I love asking these questions but at the same time, it's a very bleak area to be in because we have a lot of risks coinciding right now.
How did you go from studying climate change and the security threat it poses to fighting fires?
"In 2021, the Dixie Fire erupted. Having done so much research and policy work, that fire made me stop and think it’s important that every able-bodied adult should have to do frontline, boots-on-the-ground work to combat climate change. I had been preaching about the threat climate poses in the future, so I told my friends and parents that I was going to become a firefighter.
I don't love being outdoors constantly and sleeping on the ground and being dirty. I don't like eating gas station food for weeks on end. But I have been vocal for years about the severity of what we are up against, and there came a time when I couldn’t stay working at a desk. It’s grueling work, but if, through my efforts, just one additional tree survives into the next century, that's good enough for me.”
How does your work as a firefighter inform your work as a climate resiliency consultant, and vice versa?
“I do consultant work because, as a seasonal firefighter, it is difficult to get work off-season. But I have used this to my strength. It means I am seeing disaster response efforts continually and what I experience in the field informs my work. I am able to understand the circumstances of the people deploying the programs or ideas they are working with because I’m working in similar scenarios. When delivering recommendations, I consider who is going to have to enact these ideas and what can be done to make sure they are set up for success.
With wildland firefighting, when we’re given a project to work on as a crew, I think about what systems are being utilized. I think about our goal and how we, as a team, can best execute it. I look for opportunities to engage with the community—going to county fairs, sporting events, or recreation areas—and help the public understand what role we play beyond fighting wildfires.
As a consultant, I am working with clients who are not in this field. But it does not help to unload all of this catastrophic risk information, because it can lead to paralysis. So I communicate in a way that is honest about our predicament but is not going to leave them feeling powerless. My recommendations to clients go beyond meeting a list of requirements. I'm thinking from a bottom-up approach about long-term sustainability, and considering climate change scenarios and how to adapt projects and programs to make them 'future-proof.'”
Earlier this year, the LA wildfires dominated the news. What were those weeks like for you?
“Part of doing disaster response is adapting and doing whatever is needed at the time. Being in San Diego, I knew what was happening in LA County could happen here. Since it was the off-season for me, instead of being called out to the fires, I supported the community through volunteer disaster response. I brought goods and supplies where they were needed most in the county, and as the Watch Duty app became more popular, I contributed to the app to help keep the public informed.
When speaking to people, I explained that given the variables—extremely high winds, not enough rain for years, and terrain that is going to increase the rate of spread—it was never a question of if this burns, but when. It's taken decades to get people to understand their role in preventing wildfires, but now things are changing; it's not just fires in forests far away from people. The WUI (Wildlife Urban Interface) has historically been understood as everything within a mile of undeveloped land, but there are experts who say now everywhere is the WUI. There are no safe places just because they are far enough from undeveloped, natural land. We saw that in LA, because the winds were so high, you had embers going for miles, starting spot fires far into urban development."
Should we expect to see more fires of that magnitude in the future? What can and should people do to prepare?
“These fires were a preview of what's to come. Since mid-2024, we have been experiencing temperatures we've never seen before in human history and, importantly, that no models have predicted. When you have heat and wind, places that have historically never had fires are going to start seeing fires. It's important that we learn to either reorient our lives around the reality of fires or come to terms with the destruction they are going to cause.
If you have record-breaking temperatures and winds, you should be prepared to evacuate regardless of where you are. You should look around your neighborhood and find a place that you can walk to that will be resistant to fire, like a sports complex with a pool and lots of concrete, or even golf courses, because that grass burns quickly and is put out more easily. If you can walk to places like that, it's better than trying to evacuate in a car.
Unfortunately, it's not like a monsoon or earthquake where you just have to wait it out. With the right conditions, fires can continue going, get bigger, and jump to other locations. All of us are now, in some way or another, going to be in proximity of big wildfires, and having that awareness and preparation is what is going to help a lot of people. It's the reality and we can't be scared about it; it doesn't help any of us if we are scared.
Cities have programs now where you can help with emergency response. Instead of asking “What can I do?” during the disaster itself, you can look into volunteer emergency response in your community and sign up for a program in advance. You can also look up guides on how to create defensible space around your home and neighborhood. That way, the next time there is a disaster, you’ll have the training to know exactly how to help."
Photos provided by Gwen Michael-Jones.
