Slide show: The wildland-urban interface is growing and wildfires are causing cause more damage. Land use planning is an important solution.
Wildland-Urban Interface
Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year
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.
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.
Newsletter: November 2019
Our latest newsletter contains research on state trust lands in transition, state outdoor recreation economies, wildfire-resistant homes, and more. Subscribe to our newsletter.
Wildfire Hazard Assessments Inform Land Use Planning
Wildfire hazard assessment maps can help communities build safer neighborhoods, prioritize mitigation resources, and adapt to wildfire.
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.
Summary: Wildfire Costs, New Development, and Rising Temperatures
This summary highlights the major research Headwaters Economics has conducted concerning controlling fire suppression costs, state case studies, and the growth of homes in the WUI.
The Rising Cost of Wildfire Protection
This report describes how the protection of homes in the Wildland-Urban Interface has added to wildfire costs and concludes with a discussion of solutions that may help control escalating risks and expenses.
Northern California, Homes, and Cost of Wildfires
This Headwaters Economics study analyzes the impact of housing and climate on the costs of fighting forest fires in the twelve national forests of the Sierra Nevada.
Montana Wildfire Cost Study- Technical Report
This report examines how residential development adds to the costs of fighting wildfires, using Montana as a case study.