The Heritage Foundation’s Nick Loris explains the facts about climate change and California’s wildfires.
- Improper forest management practices such as fire suppression have led to forests becoming loaded with dryer and more flammable fuel.
- Housing policies that encourage living in high-risk fire areas have resulted in more homes and property being affected by fires.
- Reforming insurance, housing, and forest management policies to adequately reflect the risk of wildfires could help lessen the economic and environmental impact of these fires.
“Alternative, market-based risk models are cropping up in parts of the country to better assess the risk and deploy fire- suppression resources where they’re needed most. When the risk is accurately assessed, it should incentivize more prescribed burns, timber harvesting, and installation of fire- resistant materials on homes and other buildings. But even then, it is challenging because most often reducing the fuel load is out of the hands of the home or business owner.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
