by Martina Pansze
Northwest wildfires are larger and more destructive than ever before, thanks to increasingly arid summers, earlier snowmelt, and a century of fire suppression. Yet the region’s leaders continue to increase risk to residents’ lives and properties by allowing further development into flammable landscapes.
A new report from nonpartisan regional think tank Sightline Institute surveyed the mounting dangers and costs of growth in wildfire-prone areas:
- In all Northwest states except Idaho, population is growing fastest in the places most threatened by wildfires. As of 2023, almost 1.6 million people in the Northwest lived in wildfire hazard areas, an 8 percent increase since 2018.
- People living in relatively safe areas are increasingly subsidizing the risk of sprawling into flammable landscapes. Most Northwesterners—about 80 percent—live outside high wildfire hazard zones. These communities are saddled with higher taxes for fire suppression, steeper utility rates to mitigate the risk of placing power lines in fire prone landscapes, and larger insurance premiums.
The report recommends that policymakers:
- Redirect growth away from fire prone areas.
- Ensure buildings are constructed to fire safe standards in high hazard zones.
- Encourage rebuilding in safer places after disaster strikes.
To lay the groundwork for these transformative changes, leaders can, in the near term, daylight the truth about wildfire risk. They can:
- Require wildfire hazard disclosures for renters and homebuyers.
- Facilitate accurate home insurance pricing to account for both increased fire risk and better risk mitigation.
Read the report by the Sightline Institute here: “The Costs of Northwest Sprawl” (https://www.sightline.org/fire hazard the mounting costs of northwest sprawl/)
