A Cost of Fighting Wildfires in Northern California

According to a report issued in August of this year by the independent, nonprofit research group, Headwaters Economics, the cost of protecting homes in the Sierra Nevada from wildfires is increasing. Headwaters Economics found that 35% of firefighting costs in their studied area went to protecting homes. Of the $496 million that was spent on fighting wildfires, an estimated $173 million was attributed to home protection. Their report states that since 2001 the number of homes that have been threatened by wildfires has approximately doubled compared to the previous two decades. Approximately 13,000 homes have been threatened by wildfires over the past 10 years.
The report did not go into detail as to why there are more wildfires now than before, beyond saying that higher summer temperatures are associated with more wildfire activity. According to the report, the 35% increase in areas affected by wildfires has been associated with a 1-degree Fahrenheit increase in average summer temperatures.
The Headwaters Economics group found that the more spread out homes are, the more it costs to protect them. Conversely, it is easier and less expensive for firefighters to protect homes that are grouped together.
The group suggested two methods that could be used to reduce the cost of wildfire suppression to the state and federal taxpayers, who currently bear the bulk of the cost. One idea is to leave more land undeveloped and to build new homes closer together. In the event of wildfires, the homes will be easier to protect if they are closer together. The other idea is to defer at least part of the cost of wildfire fighting efforts to the owners of homes in at-risk areas and the local governments that issue permits to build in at-risk areas.
Below is a map of the areas studied by the Headwaters Economics group for this report.


Image of Angora forest fire courtesy of: TheNins.com