…The six worst fire seasons in the past 62 years have all occurred since 2000, Headwaters Economics notes in a report issued this month. Based in Bozeman, Headwaters is an independent, nonpartisan research organization.
“The Rising Cost of Wildfire” points out that wildfires in the West have become more numerous and covering more acreage. The cost of wildland firefighting also has skyrocketed because more and more homes are being built in forested and fire-prone areas. Protecting structures in the Wildland-Urban Interface is much more expensive than corralling blazes on undeveloped land…