This webinar discussed the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition’s report titled The True Cost of Wildfire in the Western U.S. This report aims to describe the full range of costs associated with wildland fire in order to help inform leaders and policymakers working to improve wildfire response and mitigation. Wildfire cost information has, in the past, primarily focused on suppression costs and structure losses; however, this report shows that there are many other types of costs relating to values such as human health, water supply, transportation, the labor market, and local economics, among others. The report also shows how targeted investments in mitigation produce ancillary benefits, such as healthier and more resilient forests and rangelands, which can potentially lead to a reduction in catastrophic wildfire event costs later. It concludes with a roadmap of subsequent steps that would be needed in order to advance a consistent and comprehensive system of wildfire cost accounting, including research, data collection, and information management.
This event is part of a larger WestFAST webinar series on wildfire. View the webinar series here.
Presenter:
Kelsey Delaney, Director of Partnerships and Program Implementation, The Council of Western State Foresters
View the report here.
Watch the recording here.
