2023 Reports

Missing the Mark: Effectiveness and Funding in Community Wildfire Risk Reduction

Dale, Lisa Allyn; Barrett, Kimiko

This research report is narrowly focused on the effectiveness of specific governmental policies to reduce risk from wildfire to communities. Here we: 1) identify which policies are most effective for reducing wildfire risk to communities; and 2) of those, determine which are attracting consistent funding over time. Based on research findings generated through expert interviews and a synthesis analysis, policies were sorted into three categories, based on which leverage point each one was attempting to modify: managing fire, managing fuels, or managing the built environment.

This analysis concludes that the most effective policies for reducing community wildfire risk tend to be those that manage the built environment, including mandated building codes and home hardening. Those policies are also among the least funded or supported.