Wildfire and Population Growth Are On a Collision Course in the Sierra

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

[Editor's note: This is an introductory summary from Dangerous Development: Wildfire and Rural Sprawl in the Sierra Nevada, a report written before the Southern California fires that deals with policy issues in the Sierra and which has implications for other areas of California.]

By Autumn Bernstein
Land Use Coordinator
Sierra Nevada Alliance

New research by Sierra Nevada Alliance finds that large numbers of people are moving to very high fire hazard areas of the Sierra, leading to more wildfires, more taxpayer expense, and more loss of life.

In the next 20-40 years, even more people and homes will be in harm’s way. The population of the Sierra is expected to triple by the year 2040, and new research by Sierra Nevada Alliance finds that 94% of the land slated for rural residential development is classified as very high or extreme fire hazard by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (also known as CDF or CalFire).

At the same time, climate change is already making summers in the Sierra hotter and drier, leading to an increase in the frequency and severity of catastrophic wildfire (Westerling, 2006).

The combination of population growth and climate change in our fire-prone region is creating a “perfect firestorm” where increasing numbers of people and homes will be at greater risk of catastrophic wildfire.

This report examines the relationship between land use planning and wildfire prevention in the Sierra. We hope this report will help the public, decision makers and conservation leaders assess where and how we grow, to make better choices that will keep our homes and communities safer.

Local governments in the Sierra, along with state and federal agencies, must take action to limit the spread of residential development into dangerous areas. We must also end subsidies that encourage reckless development at taxpayer expense.