NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 23

Wildfire by Michele Steinberg

THE VIEW
FROM NFPA'S
WILDFIRE DIVISION

Snap To
OUR CURRENT APPROACH TO COMBATTING WILDFIRE ISN'T WORKING.
SO WHY DO WE REMAIN COMPLACENT IN THE FACE OF FAILURE?

n early September, there
them means changing our mindset, our
were days when thick
strategies, and our response.
smoke and ash from hunCraig Fugate, the former administrator
dreds of nearby wildfires
of the Federal Emergency Management
transformed the daytime
Agency, has been an outspoken advoskies above Northern California and the
cate for this practice. In interviews, he
Pacific Northwest into a murky orange
has stressed that we need to take a scitwilight. Social media was flooded with
ence-based approach to help us imagine
images from the surreal spectacle.
and plan for much larger, more complex
On Twitter, I shared a reporter's video
events, the types that we currently like
of a man silhouetted against the dark
to describe as "extreme." While such an
orange skies, gazing out at the apocalypapproach might make some agencies and
tic scene from beneath San Francisco's
policymakers uncomfortable, the truth
Bay Bridge. "If only I could believe this is
is that yesterday's extreme is today's
The critical question
'the worst ...'" I wrote, before posting it.
normal. Instead of planning based on the
ahead is whether we
I admit, that sentiment might sound
current capabilities of our agencies-in
will learn from these
especially dismal amidst this terrible year
the hope they can scale up to meet a large
fires and adapt,
and the horrific fires that continue in Caldisaster-we must realistically assess
ifornia, Washington, and Oregon. But I've
community risk and plan for worst-case
or write them off as
read reports of small towns burned to
scenarios.
'extreme' and resume
the ground, of deaths, and of crowded
On the preparation and response side,
our complacency.
wildfire shelters in the midst of a global
fire scientists have long said that the parpandemic. In fact, I've seen little in my
adigm of trying to control and suppress
career that rivals the magnitude of these
fire is no longer sustainable. Instead, we
events. But I also know that the wildfire
need to utilize our knowledge of wildfire
records being broken in 2020 will not stand for long; the dev- by creating fire-resilient landscapes and, ultimately, a society
astation will continue to get worse in the coming years due in that can truly co-exist with wildfire. This entails planning,
large part to global climate change. The critical question ahead designing, building, and maintaining our communities with
is whether we will learn from these fires and adapt accordingly, wildfire in mind, a process achieved through smart land use,
or if we will once again write off these events as "extreme" or fire-resistant building design, and ongoing work to make homes
as "anomalies" and resume our complacency.
and communities ignition-resistant.
For decades, scientists have warned of the dire consequences
Complacency with our current approach to wildfire is a path
of global climate change, and it's clear that that future is here. toward the disastrous outcomes we witnessed this summer.
Those consequences include higher highs and lower lows, That approach has resulted in a society that is barely prepared
meaning climate extremes in every direction. That doesn't for normal events, much less the so-called "extremes" we are
mean that every wildfire season will be as bad as this one, but seeing now and can anticipate in the future. Anyone who saw
previously unthinkable events-massive wildfires in normally photos of communities beneath apocalyptic orange skies knows
humid regions, or years with almost no snowpack in historically deep down that we can't wait any longer to act. We must listen
cool, wet mountain ranges-will become, if not normal, at least to science, we must recognize the evolving threat of wildfire,
possible within the range of imagination. These conditions set and we must act to face it head-on.
the stage for the massive wildfire events we've witnessed this
year, and that we might witness long into the future. To combat MICHELE STEINBERG is director of the wildfire division at NFPA.

MICHAELCREDIT
GUTTER
HOEWELER

I

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

Wildfire_11.20 DCS 10.29.20.indd 23

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2020

Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 5
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 6
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 7
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 8
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 9
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 10
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 11
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 12
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 13
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 14
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 15
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 16
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 17
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 18
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 19
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 20
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 21
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 22
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 23
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 24
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 25
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 26
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 27
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 28
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 29
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 30
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 31
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 32
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 33
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 34
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 35
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 36
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 37
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 38
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 39
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 40
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 41
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 42
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 43
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 44
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 45
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 46
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 47
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 48
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 49
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 50
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 51
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 52
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 53
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 54
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 55
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 56
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 57
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 58
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 59
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 60
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 61
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 62
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 63
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 64
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 65
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 66
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 73
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 78
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 79
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 80
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover4
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