Natural Hazards
Wildfires, floods, and other climate-related disasters are becoming more extensive and costly as the climate changes. Our research helps communities understand where people may be vulnerable, and how strategies such as land use planning can help reduce risk.
Communities threatened by wildfires, 2000-2019
From 2000-2019, nearly 2,000 U.S. communities were threatened by wildfires or potential ember spread, showing the need for adaptive planning strategies.
Read MoreLearn more about our wildfire research
Building funding strategies for flood mitigation projects
This guide provides advice for developing funding strategies for flood mitigation projects, including where to find funding and how to make an economic pitch for mitigation projects.
Wildfire Risk to Communities: A tool to understand, explore, and reduce risk
The new Wildfire Risk to Communities website—developed by the USDA Forest Service in partnership with Headwaters Economics and Pyrologix—offers maps and data about community wildfire risk nationwide.
Community resilience in the era of megafires
Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D., demonstrates how community resilience to wildfire needs to include planning and adaptation strategies for homes and neighborhoods.
Wildfire and vulnerable populations
Testimony on wildfires and vulnerable populations to a forum before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.
Federal wildfire policy and the legacy of suppression
Federal wildfire policy that emphasizes suppression—a legacy of early-1900s forest management—has resulted in a paradox: accumulated fuels and larger, more severe wildfires.
Land use planning can reduce wildfire risk to homes and communities
Land use planning can help communities become fire-adapted and resilient in the face of increasing wildfire potential.
Using Economics to Support Climate Adaptation
Economic methods and data can engage diverse audiences and tell new stories to help cities make a case for climate adaptation.
Building a Wildfire-Resistant Home: Codes and Costs
A new home built to wildfire-resistant codes can be constructed for roughly the same cost as a typical home.
Full Community Costs of Wildfire
Almost half of the full community costs of wildfire are paid for at the local level, including homeowners, businesses, and government agencies.
Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire
Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) works with communities to reduce wildfire risk through improved land use planning. The program is a partnership of Headwaters Economics, Wildfire Planning International, and the USDA Forest Service.
