Kennedy Korkola

PhD Candidate

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Biography

Kennedy completed her BSc in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Human Biology at the University of Toronto. She has experience as a Fire Ranger in Northwestern Ontario which provides her with practical knowledge on fire behaviour and management in Ontario. Her PhD investigates the structural fuel changes following a spruce budworm outbreak and how these changes affect wildfire behaviour.

Role in the lab

Kennedy uses various machine learning and statistical modelling techniques to better understand how insect-altered fuels affect initial attack success and area burned in Ontario. She also leads field work in Northern Ontario in SBW and JPBW affected stands to better quantify these structural fuel changes with terrestrial LiDAR.

Education

  • University of Toronto
    B.Sc. 2016-2020
  • University of Toronto
    Ph.D. 2020-present

Publications

Korkola, K., Wheatley, M., Beverly, J., James, P.M. and Wotton, M., 2024. A comparative analysis of wildfire initial attack containment objectives and modelling strategies in Ontario, Canada. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 33(12).

Korkola, K., Beverly, J.L. and James, P.M., 2025. Wildfire containment probability is not affected by eastern spruce budworm defoliation in Ontario, Canada. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 34(9), p.WF25058.

Jourdan, L., Korkola, K., Piascik, P., James, P.M., Right on target: monopods and polystyrene spheres as an alternative to traditional tripods for terrestrial laser scanning. Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

Conferences

  • Korkola, K., & James, P. M. A. (November 19, 2025). Quantifying the influence of spruce budworm on fuel structure through time. National Forest Pest Management Forum, Ottawa, Ontario.

  • Korkola, K., & James, P. M. A. (February 25, 2025). Quantifying the influence of spruce budworm on fuel structure through time using terrestrial LiDAR. International Workshop on the Operational Use of Mobile and Airborne LiDAR for Enhanced Forest Inventory and Modelling Forest Fire, Quebec City, Quebec.

  • Korkola, K., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (October 30, 2024). Impact of eastern spruce budworm defoliation on area burned in Ontario’s boreal forest. Wildfire Canada Conference. Fredericton, New Brunswick.

  • Korkola, K., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (April 16, 2024). Quantifying the influence of spruce budworm on fuel structure through time using terrestrial LiDAR. Oral presentation at the Fuels and Fire Behaviour Conference (International). Boise, Idaho.

  • Korkola, K., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (February 28, 2024). The effects of eastern spruce budworm defoliation on models of forest fire containment in Ontario. Oral presentation for CIFFC Students of Fire National Conversations.

  • Korkola, K., James, P. M. A. (October 25, 2023) The impacts of spruce budworm defoliation on wildfire behaviour. Oral presentation at Forest Health Review. Orillia, ON.

  • Korkola, K., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (November 1, 2022) The effects of eastern spruce budworm on initial attack success in Ontario. Poster presentation at the Wildland Fire Canada Conference (WFCC; National). Edmonton, Alberta.

  • Korkola, K., Wheatley, M., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (November 1, 2022) Wildfire containment objectives and modelling strategies: a case study in Ontario, Canada. Poster presentation at the Wildland Fire Canada Conference (WFCC; National). Edmonton, Alberta.

  • Korkola, K., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (June 23, 2022) Disturbance interactions in the boreal forest: the impacts of spruce budworm defoliation on fire suppression effectiveness. Oral presentation to the North American Forest Ecology Workshop (NAFEW; International). Sault St. Marie, ON.

  • Korkola, K., Beverly, J., James, P. M. A. (November 24, 2021) Influence of spruce budworm defoliation on fire escape probability in Ontario. Oral presentation to the Canada Wildfire NSERC Strategic Network (National).