FORT Economist James Meldrum and the Wildfire Research Team win the 2024 CO-LABS Governor’s Awards for High Impact Research: Pathfinding Partnerships Award

As wildfire frequency and severity increases worldwide and urban populations expand further into wildlands, communities will face increasing risk of interaction with wildfire. Scientific research has established effective practices for reducing wildfire risk to homes and communities, like improving fire department access to land parcels, removing flammable materials or vegetation near buildings, and developing evacuation plans before an emergency happens. However, people exposed to wildfire may be unaware of details of their wildfire risk, and they may face many different barriers to doing wildfire risk mitigation projects on and around their properties. 

To improve wildfire preparedness, the Wildfire Research (WiRē) Team partners with wildfire mitigation and education organizations to support the development of local, evidence-based wildfire programs that are tailored to the needs of individual communities. The team works with wildfire practitioners to collect, interpret, and use paired parcel-level wildfire risk and social data for all homes within study communities. While certain components of the data collection and analyses are standardized across all communities, local practitioners drive research questions, how the research is shared with their community and what kinds of wildfire risk mitigation programs develop from the research. Communities have used the data from this research to tell stories, shape the programs they offer, populate grant proposals, and facilitate understanding of wildfire risk mitigation.

Here are just a few examples of how communities are using data collected with the WiRē Team to mitigate wildfire risk.

WiRē is a research group from the USGS, US Forest Service, CU-Boulder, and the nonprofit Wildfire Research Center that partners with wildfire organizations on community-specific projects. In each community where WiRē operates, the Team and its partners work together closely throughout the research process, from project development to data collection to analyzing and sharing results. The CO-LABS award recognizes Colorado-based partnerships with the Colorado State Forest Service, Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council, Genesee Fire Protection District, and West Region Wildfire Council. WiRē has also worked with similar organizations in seven other states throughout the U.S. and maintains active relationships beyond individual projects, with partners joining a community of practice and often returning for additional projects.