Archives: Communities
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Missoula County, Montana
The Great Fires of 1910 burned three million acres in Montana and Idaho, shaping our country’s early wildland fire policies and leaving a lasting impression on Missoula County, Montana. Since then, numerous fires have destroyed homes throughout Missoula County. With a rapid population growth, Missoula County is in the ninety-fifth percentile of Western counties for risk of…
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Nederland, Colorado
Over recent decades, Nederland has become a destination for recreationists, visitors, retirees, and others wanting to be closer to the mountains. Located north of Denver, Colorado and in Boulder County, Nederland is surrounded by public lands, including the Indian Peaks Wilderness, Rocky Mountain National Park, Roosevelt National Forest, and the James Peak Wilderness. In 2016,…
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Park County, Montana
As part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, residents of Park County are adept at living with natural disturbances, including everything from bison mowing down fences, to flooding from ice dams on the Yellowstone River, to wildfire. In the last three decades, more than one million acres of land in Park County have burned. The most…
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Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
A gateway community to Smokey Mountain National Park and home to Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is a unique rural/suburban community that includes thousands of seasonal cabins, residential homes, and condominiums spread throughout valleys, hillsides, and forested areas. In November 2016, Pigeon Forge lost 18 homes in a fire that consumed nearly 2,500 homes and killed…
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Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona
The town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona is situated next to the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world. Located in the eastern edge of the state, Pinetop-Lakeside rests at the base of the White Mountains. In recent years, two historic wildfires—the Rodeo Chediski Fire in 2002 and the Wallow Fire in 2011—collectively consumed nearly 1…
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Redding, California
The City of Redding, California has an extensive history with wildfires. Located in Shasta County and in the northern part of the state, Redding experiences more than 100 fires annually. In 2018, the Carr Fire, one of the state’s most destructive wildfires in history, started at the edge of Redding and burned nearly 230,000 acres…
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San Diego, California
Steep canyons of brush winding among San Diego’s dense housing and business developments provide welcome open space and a haven for native plants and wildlife. They also provide plenty of fuel for fast-moving wildfires. Three of California’s largest wildfires have blown up in San Diego County where wildfire risk has only increased during the region’s…
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San Luis Valley, Colorado
Southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley ranges from grass and shrub ecosystems in the valley bottom to high-elevation forests in the surrounding mountains. With smaller, scattered towns and villages throughout the region, wildfires have threatened communities several times in the last two decades, destroying homes and causing evacuations. The six-county area that comprises the San Luis…
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Santa Fe, New Mexico
City planners in Santa Fe, New Mexico are balancing competing priorities – protecting community aesthetic values, managing long-term growth, improving economic development, and preserving the natural landscape – all while reducing the threat of wildfire. An arid climate coupled with climate change projections of more frequent and intense wildfires has led city planners to integrate…
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Sisters, Oregon
Sisters is on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains, and is nearly completely surrounded by Deschutes National Forest. It is the fastest growing city in Oregon, and residential and commercial development is pressing up against the neighboring forest lands. Wildfire seasons have been increasing in length and the threat of ignition from embers is…