A new report from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission recommends transformative approaches needed to overcome the wildfire crisis.
Natural Hazards
Missing the mark: Effectiveness and funding in community wildfire risk reduction
A new analysis shows that managing the built environment is the most effective strategy at reducing wildfire risk to communities, yet it receives the least funding and policy support.
Analysis of the first round of Community Wildfire Defense Grants
An independent analysis by Headwaters Economics shows that the first round of funding from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program prioritized high-risk, low-income communities.
Decreasing flood risk in the Midwest with regional collaborations
A regional approach to flood risk can help communities pool resources and implement effective solutions. Five case studies offer lessons.
Building for wildfire
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.
Wildfire safety standards for Montana
Statewide wildfire safety standards are proven and cost effective. Montana can adopt standards to help make communities safer from increasing wildfire risks.
Match requirements prevent rural and low-capacity communities from accessing climate resilience funding
Many federal grant programs require communities to provide a local match, creating barriers for rural and underserved places.
New research shows where wildfire mitigation can be highly cost effective
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.
Green Infrastructure: Cost-effective solutions to flooding
Green infrastructure can provide long-term, cost-effective solutions to flooding and can help communities adapt to climate change. We provide a cost breakdown for eight green infrastructure practices.
Yellowstone Flood reveals Montana’s mobile home flood risk
Montana’s mobile home residents face disproportionate flood risk and traditional solutions leave them behind.
Capacity-limited states still struggle to access FEMA BRIC grants
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
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
At least 1.2 million wood roofs are in areas with wildfire risk. Funding is needed to help communities prepare for wildfire.
Local revenue to fund long-term infrastructure costs
Communities need resilient revenue strategies to fund the long-term costs of capital improvements and infrastructure.
Mobile home residents face higher flood risk
Mobile homes are the most common unsubsidized, affordable housing in the United States but have disproportionately higher flood risk than other housing types.
Improving benefit-cost analyses for rural areas
Benefit-cost analysis, required for many federal funding sources, puts smaller, rural, and low-income communities at a disadvantage.
The unequal impacts of 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.
Mountain, Midwest, and Gulf States fail to secure FEMA resilience funding
Rural and lower capacity communities failed to successfully compete for FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funding in FY 2020.
Living with wildfire
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.
How state and local budgets are vulnerable to climate change
Climate change has the potential to destabilize general operating budgets and constrain access to lending markets. These presentations share promising solutions for “climate-proofing” budgets.