Wildfires
Site news
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Wildfires are threatening lives, infrastructure, and public health systems across the West. Bay Area fire management officials are implementing effective prevention measures – from prescribed burns to home-hardening rebate programs – yet crucial research gaps remain.
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Wildfire smoke increasingly threatens lives across the country. A new study shows smoke exposure in the coming decades will cause tens of thousands of excess deaths and predicts where exposure will occur so communities and policymakers can prepare for the health burden.
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Scholars including Daniel Neamati, a TomKat Center Graduate Fellow, and Tadashi Fukami, a professor of Earth system science, rely on aerial imagery to enhance their understanding of landscape changes and ecological recovery at at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma).
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How can air quality policies adapt to the new world of pollution trends shaped by wildfire smoke? Learn about the growing problem of air polluted by wildfire smoke, and what the data show about policies that can make a difference.
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With support from the TomKat Center’s Graduate Fellowship in Translational Research, PhD student Daniel Neamati is modeling prescribed burns to better manage wildfires.
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A new Stanford-led study finds that controlled, low-intensity fires known as prescribed burns can slash wildfire intensity and dangerous smoke pollution across the western United States.
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Many U.S. utilities lag in implementing fundamental mitigation steps despite facing considerable wildfire risk, according to a new Stanford white paper. Failing to prepare endangers communities as well as future development of the energy system, according to the researchers.
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Tribal, local, and private firefighters are often undercounted, despite their growing role in fire response. This makes it harder for planners to know how many firefighters are actually available and can lead to unfair pay, protections, and benefits.
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A SIEPR Policy Forum examined how government, business, and academia can best address the rising economic costs of wildfires.
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A wildfire policy expert explains how California’s ongoing fire crisis is being driven by climate change and poor urban planning. “Whole-of-society” approaches are needed, he says.
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Developed out of a collaboration between Stanford Radio Club students and researchers at the Woods Institute's Climate and Energy Policy Program and the Law School's Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program, low-cost sensors provide air quality data to monitor the effects of prescribed burns on local communities.
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Scientists estimate that reducing harmful chemical emissions could cut cancer risks from smoke exposure by over 50%.
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A new study underscores the importance of transformative adaptation to create a more sustainable future for tribal nations.
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Debbie Sivas discusses California's fire crisis and examines how climate change and urban development are making residents more susceptible to the dangers of fires.
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In light of the Los Angeles-area wildfires, Stanford experts spanning the fields of environmental science, medicine, and public health discuss what we know about wildfires’ health impacts, what remains a mystery, and how communities can better protect themselves from the increasingly common threat.
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Fast-moving wildfires in Los Angeles County have burned thousands of homes and killed at least 29 people amid fierce winds and dry conditions. Stanford-led research shows how wildfire risks are changing, illuminates connections to climate and health, and offers promising solutions.
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Stanford’s campus has become a living lab for testing innovative fire management techniques, from research on wildfire exposure risks to a cross-campus competition for students to develop wildfire-related solutions.
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The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment recently hosted a first-of-its-kind “boot camp” in which congressional staffers got a crash course from experts in climate, forestry, fire science, utilities, insurance, and other wildfire-related topics.
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Researchers have developed a sprayable gel that creates a shield to protect buildings from wildfire damage. It lasts longer and is more effective than existing commercial options.
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Supported by a Sustainability Accelerator grant, a multidisciplinary team is exploring policy options such as prescribed burning with the goal of reducing wildfire risk in California.
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Severe wildfires can drive chemical changes in soil that affect ecosystem recovery and risks to human health. A new study finds broader surveillance and modeling of these changes could inform strategies for protecting lives, property, and natural resources, and managing wildlife.
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A new white paper from Stanford researchers analyzes Western investor-owned utilities’ wildfire mitigation plans, highlighting those that are leading the way and identifying steps utilities with exposure to wildfire risk should be taking.
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New research from Stanford University shows wildfires can transform a natural element in soils into a cancer-causing and readily airborne metal known as chromium 6.
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High-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S. Researchers quantified the value of managed low-intensity burning to dramatically reduce the risk of such fires for years at a time.
