Policy & Communication for Wildfire Resilience
Climate change is increasing wildfire risk in California, with escalating impacts on the natural environment as well as agricultural, commercial, and municipal land uses. Over 100 million acres of US land need to be managed to reduce the severity of wildfires, yet these crucial treatments are occurring at a rate of only 3 million acres per year. An improved approach to landscape-level management is needed. The Building Resilience to Wildfires project builds on a multi-year cross-disciplinary effort to address this problem with the rapid deployment of environmental sensing technology data science, cutting edge atmospheric and ecological modeling, and experimental and practical prescribed burns. The project, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, aims to forecast climate conditions and inform risk assessments before the next big wildfire occurs. Building off of this research, The 2035 Initiative developed policy recommendations and communications for these critical findings.
Authors: Izzy Sofio (BEL Fellow, The 2035 Initiative) and Katie McElroy (BEL Fellow, The 2035 Initiative)
7,000 wildfires burned across California in 2023 alone. The solution is to fight fire with fire.
The mere mention of wildfire likely brings back vivid memories— whether it’s the Woolsey Fire, Camp Fire, Witch Fire, or another one that impacted your life most. Every year, fires seem to be bigger, more frequent, and closer to home. We’re not imagining this—researchers confirm that it’s true. And the best way to fight back against fires? More fire.
We Need More Funding for Interdisciplinary Prescribed Burns
The Policy Problem
California continues to see larger and more destructive wildfires, such as the Camp Fire in 2018. Hotter and drier conditions increase the severity and frequency of chaotic wildfires, placing homes, livelihoods, and the environment at risk. Fire dynamics in the coastal foothills, home to sage grasslands, shrublands, oak woodlands, and nearly 27 million Californians, are not well understood. As climate change intensifies and the threat of extreme wildfire increases, we need to adapt to these changes. Researchers develop best practices and create novel strategies for policy that address climate change’s impacts, playing a critical role here. Interdisciplinary research is crucial to comprehensively understanding how best to ensure the coastal foothills are resilient to wildfires and climate change.
We Need More Prescribed Burning in California’s Coastal Foothills
The Policy Problem
Over 27 million Californians live in coastal shrublands, grasslands, and oak woodlands that are threatened by increasingly frequent and destructive wildfires. But compared to more remote, forested areas like the Sierras, these areas receive little attention and funding. As a result, scientists, policymakers, fire specialists, and residents know less about predicting wildfires and protecting communities in these ecosystems.
This project was part of the UCSB Bren School of Environmental Studies & Management’s Bren Environmental Leaders (BEL) Program and made in collaboration with The 2035 Initiative and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.