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wildfire

Capacity-limited states still struggle to access FEMA BRIC grants

August 2022

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

Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition

July 2022

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

Wood roofs are a $6 billion wildfire problem

July 2022

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

The unequal impacts of wildfire

September 2021

Aerial view of neighborhood destroyed by wildfire.

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.

Living with wildfire

May 2021

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.

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

February 2021

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

Wildfire Risk Report for every U.S. community

February 2021

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

Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year

November 2020

Wildfire burns near a home in California

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.

Montana wildfire risk is widespread and growing

October 2020

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

Community resilience in the era of megafires

August 2020

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

Communities threatened by wildfires, 2000-2019

July 2020

A wildfire burns over a ridge near a neighborhood.

From 2000-2019, nearly 2,000 U.S. communities were threatened by wildfires or potential ember spread, showing the need for adaptive planning strategies.

Wildfire and Vulnerable Populations: Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee

June 2020

Wildland firefighters get supplies ready to suppress a wildfire.

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

April 2020

Air tanker drops fire retardant on the Willow Fire near North Fork, CA in 2015.

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.

Preparing for wildfires during a pandemic

April 2020

A column of wildfire smoke rises behind houses in a residential neighborhood.

Managing wildfires during a pandemic will test the capacity of our first responders, but individual homeowners can take steps now to reduce wildfire risks.

Wildfire Risk to Communities: A tool to understand, explore, and reduce risk

April 2020

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.

Building for Wildfire Summit: Understanding How Homes Burn

November 2019

Video and highlights from an event that brought together diverse community leaders to explore practices for building fire-adapted communities.

Newsletter: July 2019

July 2019

Our latest newsletter contains research on the economic importance of public lands, wildfire hazard assessments, and rural resilience. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Wildfire Hazard Assessments Inform Land Use Planning

July 2019

headwaters-staff-Kimiko-Barrett

Wildfire hazard assessment maps can help communities build safer neighborhoods, prioritize mitigation resources, and adapt to wildfire.

Newsletter: February 2019

February 2019

Our latest research, Newsletter: February 2019, contains research on neighborhoods at risk from climate change, how recreation counties outperform their peers economically, detailed socioeconomic profiles for counties near BLM units, and a blog on land use planning being more effective than logging to reduce wildfire disasters. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Newsletter: December 2018

December 2018

Our latest research, Newsletter: December 2018, contains research on building wildfire-resistant homes, a trails toolkit, helping communities reduce wildfire risk through land use planning, and Montana’s outdoor recreation economy. Subscribe to our newsletter.

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