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CORVALLIS, Ore. -- With wildfires increasing in frequency and threatening urban as well as rural communities, Oregon State University's annual Starker Lecture Series will tackle trends in living with fire in the Pacific Northwest.

The series, "Burning Questions: People, Forests, and Fire," is hosted by the OSU College of Forestry. It begins Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. with a film, "Legacy of Fire: The Story of the Tillamook Burn," followed by a talk by Doug Decker, state forester, at the Whiteside Theater, 361 S.W. Madison Ave. in downtown Corvallis.

Told through the voices of the men and women who lived through a series of severe wildfires in the 1930s and 1940s, the film also shows the dramatic forest that grew from the ashes. Following the film, Decker will offer some historic perspective of the significance of the fire; its impact on the development and direction of the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon State College of Forestry; and how people in Oregon and across the West need to adjust to new realities.

Other events in the series include:

• Feb. 18: "Fire Ecology, Management and Policy in the Western United States," with Scott Stephens, University of California, Berkeley, 3:30 p.m. in the LaSells Stewart Center, C&E Hall, at OSU.

• March 3: "Exposure of Buildings to Wildfire," with Steve Quarles, Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, 3:30 pm at the River House in Bend, Ore.

• April 7: "Living with Fire," with Ed Smith, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, 3:30 p.m. in the LaSells Stewart Center, C&E Hall, at OSU. Smith will follow his presentation with a workshop for community fire prevention educators on April 8.

A reception and discussion will be held after each lecture. In addition, at the March 3 and April 7 lectures, vendors will offer services and information about fire safety and prevention.

The Starker Lecture Series is sponsored by the Starker family in memory of T.J. and Bruce Starker, prominent leaders in the development of the Oregon forest products industry. The series is also supported by the OSU College of Forestry and the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.

More information on the series is available at http://starkerlectures.forestry.oregonstate.edu