The warming climate, a proliferation of uncleared vegetation, and development near wildlands all combine to fuel devastating fire seasons that begin earlier and earlier each year, especially across the American West. In 2020, 10.1 million acres burned nationwide. To address this crisis, in January of 2022, the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Forest Service)
In 2020, more than 9.5 million acres burned because of 26,000 fires throughout the 12 states of the American West. [NF1] Seventeen thousand structures burned—most of which were in California—and 54% of those structures were residences. Since 2000, across the US, about 70,600 wildfires have burned 7 million acres, on average each year. This is more
CALFIRE and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council undertook a project to reduce vegetative fuel along 6.5 miles of SR-17 in Santa Clara County to protect the community of Los Gatos and water and power infrastructure, as well as provide a safe escape route and refuge for residents and travelers in the Santa Cruz Mountains
The City of Santa Barbara was awarded a CAL FIRE grant to update their Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and craft a Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for plan implementation. Dudek prepared the PEIR and CWPP, as well as facilitated virtual public outreach to inform both processes.
Community wildfire protection planning plays a key role in protecting the millions of homes throughout California located on land designated as Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). The U.S. Forest Service defines the WUI as places where humans and their development come into contact with (within a half mile of) wildland fuel sources. With 32% of housing in
Record-high temperatures and rainfall levels approaching the record low in California have fueled devastating fire seasons that begin earlier and earlier each year. In an effort to prevent increasingly catastrophic wildfires, California Governor Jerry Brown signed several bills in September that prioritize land management activities focused on forest health, fuel management, and fire prevention. Senate
A recent focus in San Diego County on assessing fire services based on the cumulative impacts of proposed large developments may start to be seen elsewhere in California. Development of large solar farms in San Diego’s rural eastern area prompted resource agencies to ask for more comprehensive fire service assessments, said Michael Huff, Dudek’s fire
A wildfire protection plan developed for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (Garden) improves safety for Garden workers, visitors and neighbors, and offers a safer area for firefighters to stage equipment in the event of a blaze. The 78-acre Garden is located in a high-fire-hazard zone with homes up-canyon and on one primary roadway. The new
With an estimated 11.8 million homes throughout California located on acres designated as Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), wildfire protection planning plays play a key role in community safety. The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCFSC) developed two Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) for wildfire-prone areas of East Foothills, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin, and south and
