Your Community Voice

• It can destroy communities, torch pristine forests and choke even faraway cities with toxic smoke.
• Over time, extensive fire suppression has set the stage for the increasingly destructive wildfires we see today.

The problem with fighting every fire

• After watching the fire’s swift and unstoppable spread, the fledgling Forest Service developed a military-style apparatus built to eradicate wildfire.
• Today, state, federal and private firefighters deploy across the country when fires break out, along with tankers, bulldozers, helicopters and planes.
• The Forest Service touts a record of snuffing out 98% of wildfires before they reach 100 acres (40 hectares).
• Efforts by the Forest Service to adopt a more selective policy have run into opposition from Western politicians.

Climate change and wildfires

• The relationship between climate and wildfire is fairly simple: Higher temperatures lead to more fire.
• Higher temperatures increase moisture evaporation, drying out plants and soil and making them more likely to burn.
• When hot, dry winds are blowing, a spark in an already dry area can quickly blow up into dangerous wildfire.

What fire managers can do

• Natural fires can also help avoid catastrophic fires that occur when too much underbrush has built up for fuel.
• Fire managers have advanced mapping technology that can help them decide when and where forests can burn safely.
• The Forest Service is aiming to ramp up its prescribed burning on more acres in more areas across the country.

Adapting homes to fire risk

• More than one-third of U.S. homes are in what’s known as the wildland-urban interface – the zone where houses and other structures intermingle with flammable vegetation.
• The biggest risk to homes comes from burning embers blowing on the wind and landing in weak spots that can set a house ablaze.
• But enormous investment is needed to get the work done at the scale the fire risk requires.
• For example, nearly 1 million U.S. homes in wildfire-prone areas have highly combustible wooden roofs.

What communities can do

• Beyond individual actions, states and communities can enact forward-looking wildfire resilience policies.
• The International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which provides guidance for safeguarding homes and communities from wildfire, has been adopted in jurisdictions in at least 24 states.

Living in a world with wildfire

• Prevention and suppression will always be critical pieces of wildfire strategy, but adapting to our fiery future means everyone has a role.
• Advocate for better wildfire planning, policy and resources.
• Living in a world where more wildfire is inevitable requires that everyone see themselves as part of solving the problem.