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Overview

Wildfire Solutions

Preventing catastrophic wildfire, improving health and safety

Factsheet

Learn more about wildfire research at Stanford.

Expert Tip Sheet

Stanford experts on wildfire-related issues.

Videos

Catch up on briefings and interviews with Stanford experts.


Wildfire News and Media Coverage

May 23, 2023 | KVPR
Michael Wara comments on the Environmental Protection Agency's policy response to wildfire smoke. 
May 16, 2023 | LA Times
Noah Diffenbaugh corroborates the methodology of a recently released study tracing the origins of wildfire smoke-- research that seeks to hold oil and gas companies accountable for their role in...
April 7, 2023 | KQED
Michael Wara discusses how wildfire challenges the paradigm that is at the core of the Clean Air Act — that emissions can be controlled.
Woods Senior Research Scholar Michael Wara addresses U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget about the economic risks of climate-fueled wildfire While the risk of fire in the west may seem far off now, U...
wildfire damage
Wildfires pose a large and growing threat to communities across California, where fires are becoming more frequent and destructive. As climate change occurs, the frequency of wildfires is expected to...
February 15, 2023 | SF Chronicle
Study author Chris Field on finding socioeconomic disparities in wildfire risk.

Past wildfire Events

Mar
08
2023
12:30pm
Virtual via Zoom

Wildland Fire Seminar | Indigenous led fire management

Mar
01
2023
12:30pm
Virtual via Zoom

Wildland Fire Seminar | Utilities' efforts to mitigate wildfire risk and partnerships needed to ensure success

Feb
22
2023
12:30pm
Virtual via Zoom

Wildland Fire Seminar | NFTs to fund fire prevention, forest stewardship and land back


Wildfire Research Projects

Fire with Fire

A practical system focused on fuels, ignitions, relocation, and extensive and intensive health impacts (FIRE) can benefit California and other areas under threat from wildfires around the globe.

Prevention Treatment

A preventive treatment developed by Stanford researchers led by Eric Appel involving an environmentally safe gel-like retardant provides season-long protection against wildfire ignitions.

Zombie Forests

California’s zombie forests — forests established under a prior climate regime now out of climate equilibrium — represent a critical, and as yet unaccounted for, high risk factor for catastrophic wildfire.

Michael Wara, Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program, and other Stanford researchers are working with state officials and stakeholders to inform wildfire policy and understand the role utilities play in catastrophic wildfires.

Marshall Burke, professor of Earth System Science, and colleagues bring together data on the changing risk and societal burden of wildfire in the U.S. and use satellite data and statistical modeling to estimate indirect mortality. 

Kari Nadeau, Director of Stanford's Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, has active research projects in Fresno, California, studying health impacts from wildfire smoke.


Wildfire Research and Prevention Experts

For assistance in reaching experts, contact Devon Ryan or Chris Black

Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering

Wildfire prevention, new technology to prevent ignitions, human-caused wildfires

Associate Professor of Earth System Science

Wildfire smoke and air pollution mortality risk, wildfire costs and economic statistics

Professor of Earth System Science

Climate and wildfire risk, drought and precipitation, extreme events

Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Wildfire and climate change, wildfire ecology, forest management

Professor of Earth System Science

Wildfires and greenhouse gas emissions, fire and forest ecology

Assistant Professor of Earth System Science

Tree mortality, wildfire prediction, forest ecology, climate risk, remote sensing

Ph.D. Candidate in Environment and Resources

Wildfire management and policy, wildfire prevention, human impacts of wildfires

Director, Climate and Energy Policy Program

Wildfire policy and law, electric utilities and wildfire prevention

Assistant Professor of Earth System Science

Psychology and human behavior, human impacts of wildfires

Decades of fire suppression, climate change, and the development of homes and businesses next to dense forests and wild areas called the “wildland urban interface” have made California’s forests a matchbox. In recent years, wildfires have killed over 150 people, destroyed over 35,000 homes, and caused more than $125 billion in societal losses. Diverse and disadvantaged populations, including Native Americans and migrant worker communities, are among the most vulnerable to wildfire and smoke exposure, which can have grave public health impacts. Fighting wildfires costs billions, and current practices are allowing the risks to grow.


Wildfire Publications