Posted inEnvironment, Rural Economy

Land-Use Decisions Have Big Consequences for Cost of Fighting Wildfires

Anna Scofield spent 10 years as a wildland firefighter before taking up research on “sprawl” in the wildland-urban interface. She learned firsthand protecting homes from fire is dangerous and expensive. Building houses far apart and beyond town—the wildland-urban interface—increases firefighting costs in the Rocky Mountain West because firefighters shift from simple fire containment to structure […]