Wildfires are becoming more commonplace and extreme, increasing the scale of their destruction. Many wildfires occur in or near developed areas, putting more people at risk and leading to dangerous air quality impacts. Moreover, climate change is extending the fire season and making the conditions for destructive fires more likely to occur.
ULI’s Wildfire Efforts in the News:
Bigger, hotter, and more frequent wildfires are causing increasing amounts of community trauma, infrastructure destruction, and economic hardship across the United States. Firebreak: Wildfire Resilience Strategies for Real Estate explores how the real estate industry is responding to wildfire risks with building design, land use policy, and community resilience solutions.
Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles after the January 2025 Wildfires provides a solutions-driven roadmap to accelerate recovery and strengthen long-term wildfire resilience. It offers in-depth technical analysis, case studies, and best practices designed to help Los Angeles rebuild faster, more affordably, and with greater climate adaptation strategies in place.
Following the devastating Marshall Fire in December 2021, Louisville and Superior, Colorado, municipal staff sought guidance on how to best address community resilience questions, to better incorporate the Wildland-Urban Interface into municipal codes, to meet the housing needs of the two communities, and to help ensure that community members, both in town and those still displaced, are able to participate in the critical post-disaster decision making that will impact their homes and lives in the years to come. Read the report here.
Photo By California National Guard
At the invitation of the Sonoma Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA), a volunteer team of ULI members convened virtually in April 2021 to develop recommendations to enhance wildfire, energy, and economic resilience in Sonoma County, CA. The Panel’s presentation of recommendations is here, and the ULI Panel’s complete findings and recommendations can be found here.
Photo By Shutterstock
After the 2013 flood and fire season, three communities in Northern Colorado invited ULI to host an Advisory Services Panel focused on how to enhance community resilience and preparedness for future weather events. Read the report here.
Urban Land Magazine article by ULI member Molly McCabe on preparing for wildfire resilience and highlighting ULI’s Firebreak report. Click here to read the article.
Photo By Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
The Urban Resilience program hosted a live, exclusive demonstration of home wildfire resilience via video feed from the test chamber at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, partnering with ten District Councils from wildfire-prone areas. Stream the webinar on Knowledge Finder or read a recap of the critical wildfire resilience takeaways from the webinar on Urban Land Online.
Photo By CAL Fire
The wildfire season in the U.S. West seems to be causing more damage with each passing year. This past year, the town of Paradise, California, was largely destroyed; the public utility PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection due to potential liability costs associated with recent wildfires; and multimillion-dollar homes were destroyed in Malibu, California. With so much destruction, what can be done to produce more positive outcomes? The real estate industry is learning to adapt and rebuild in a way that minimizes future risk. Read this Urban Land Magazine article here.