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wildfire

  • Building wildfire-resistant homes after disasters will save billions

    Building wildfire-resistant homes after disasters will save billions

    Patricia Hernandez

    Upfront investments in rebuilding to wildfire-resistant standards can save billions in future avoided economic losses. Read more

  • Crossover landscaping can enhance wildfire resistance and save water

    Crossover landscaping can enhance wildfire resistance and save water

    Doug Green

    Crossover landscaping that does double-duty for drought and wildfire resistance is becoming more appealing for communities looking to reduce risk in residential areas. Read more

  • Community Wildfire Defense Grants benefit rural and low-capacity communities

    Community Wildfire Defense Grants benefit rural and low-capacity communities

    Kelly Pohl

    A Forest Service program is helping communities across the nation reduce wildfire risk—including those that don’t normally have the resources to successfully compete for federal grants. Read more

  • Cascading wildfire insurance issues impact local and state budgets

    Cascading wildfire insurance issues impact local and state budgets

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    As home insurance in areas with high wildfire risk becomes more expensive and harder to obtain, significant pressure is put on state and local budgets. Read more

  • The cost of retrofitting a home for wildfire resistance

    The cost of retrofitting a home for wildfire resistance

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    Retrofitting a home for wildfire resistance can cost as little as $2,000, making this approach an effective risk reduction strategy for communities. Read more

  • Redefining the urban wildfire problem in the West

    Redefining the urban wildfire problem in the West

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    Leading wildfire experts make the case that creating wildfire-resistant communities must become a much higher priority. Read more

  • Austin, Texas: Built for Wildfire

    Austin, Texas: Built for Wildfire

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    In this ten-minute video produced by Headwaters Economics, learn how leaders in Austin, TX came to realize the magnitude of the wildfire threat, and how they brought together diverse interests to protect their community. Read more

  • Congressional wildfire commission lays out a new approach for wildfire policy

    Congressional wildfire commission lays out a new approach for wildfire policy

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    A new report from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission recommends transformative approaches needed to overcome the wildfire crisis. Read more

  • Building for wildfire

    Building for wildfire

    Brent Powell

    In this video produced by Headwaters Economics, homeowner Brodey Simkins describes the tragedy of losing his home to wildfire and his commitment to rebuilding with wildfire in mind. Read more

  • New research shows where wildfire mitigation can be highly cost effective

    New research shows where wildfire mitigation can be highly cost effective

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    The United States is spending billions of dollars on suppressing wildfires that threaten a growing number of homes, but very little on better preparing communities before a wildfire occurs. Read more

  • Capacity-limited states still struggle to access FEMA BRIC grants

    Capacity-limited states still struggle to access FEMA BRIC grants

    Kris Smith, Ph.D.

    Places with lower capacity are failing to get funding through FEMA’s flagship grant program, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC). Read more

  • Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition

    Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    In light of rising wildfire risks, we analyzed the costs of constructing homes to three levels of wildfire resistance in California. Read more

  • Wood roofs are a $6 billion wildfire problem

    Wood roofs are a $6 billion wildfire problem

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    At least 1.2 million wood roofs are in areas with wildfire risk. Funding is needed to help communities prepare for wildfire. Read more

  • The unequal impacts of wildfire

    The unequal impacts of wildfire

    Kelly Pohl

    See where wildfire risk intersects social and economic factors that can make it difficult for people to prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfire. Read more

  • Living with wildfire

    Living with wildfire

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    Watch “Living with wildfire.” Wildfires are an inescapable and necessary function of healthy ecosystems. In the past decade they have increased in severity and duration, killed more people, and burned more structures. Read more

  • Wildland-Urban Interface: The Problem, Trends, & Solutions (slides)

    Wildland-Urban Interface: The Problem, Trends, & Solutions (slides)

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    Slide show: The wildland-urban interface is growing and wildfires are causing cause more damage. Land use planning is an important solution. Read more

  • Wildfire Risk Report for every U.S. community

    Wildfire Risk Report for every U.S. community

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    A new report in our Economic Profile System provides community-level data about wildfire hazard and potentially vulnerable populations. Read more

  • Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year

    Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    Explore the number of structures destroyed in each state by wildfire. Structures lost—rather than acres burned—provides a more complete measure of the broad impacts of wildfire. Read more

  • Montana wildfire risk is widespread and growing

    Montana wildfire risk is widespread and growing

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    The number of western Montana homes in areas with high wildfire hazard has doubled, outpacing development rates in areas with low wildfire hazard. Read more

  • Community resilience in the era of megafires

    Community resilience in the era of megafires

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D.

    Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D., demonstrates how community resilience to wildfire needs to include planning and adaptation strategies for homes and neighborhoods. Read more

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