White Paper: Controlling Fire Suppression Costs
This white paper explores ways to control the rising expense of wildland firefighting, which now costs the federal government more than $3 billion annually and is are likely to increase dramatically. The paper analyzes the factors contributing to rising wildfire costs and provides ten policy ideas for controlling future WUI-related firefighting costs.

News Release, Nov. 18, 2009

Montana Wildfire Cost Study: Technical Report
This report examines how residential development adds to the costs of fighting wildfires, using Montana as a case study. Our findings document a strong correlation between the costs of fighting wildfires and the number of homes threatened and the potential for significant increases in the costs of fire protection if current development trends continue.

An online slideshow presentation of the above technical report is available.

Journal Article
Click here to view an article on the relationships between residential development, climate change, and fire suppression costs in Montana.

Essay on Wildfire Costs
Click here to view a Writers on the Range essay on residential development and increasing fire suppression costs.

Potential for Future Development on Fire-Prone Lands
New data illustrates the potential for more home construction next to fire-prone public lands and the implications for future wildfire fighting costs. Only 14 percent of forested western private land adjacent to public land is currently developed for residential use. Based on current growth trends, there is tremendous potential for future development on the remaining 86 percent. Our findings

Journal Article
Click here to view our article from the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Forestry.

Newsletter
Click here to view our newsletter on the cost of protecting homes and the impact of rising temperatures.