Western wildfire policy: from prescribed fire to public health

Team: Chris Field, Marshall Burke, Michael Mastrandrea, Kari Nadeau, Deborah Sivas, Stefan Wager
Mid-range (Developing)

This project advanced policy solutions to the growing problem of catastrophic wildfire in California and the West. As climate change fuels more wildfires in California, traditional wildfire suppression strategies from the 20th century have become ineffective and costly. Also, rising utility wildfire mitigation costs are threatening the affordability of the energy transition. The team worked with government and tribal partners on technical and policy analysis to reform prescribed fire liability, protect students from wildfire smoke, and develop a quantitative planning process for wildfire risk reduction in California. They also organized the Smoke: Wildfire Science and Policy Lab, in which law, graduate, and undergraduate students worked on projects designed in partnership with policy partners. The project produced policy proposals that have contributed to legislation in California and are under consideration in other states and at the federal level. The team built enduring relationships with partners and legislators and secured nearly $3.5M in grant funding to support ongoing policy work.