Lessons Learned from Waldo Canyon
The Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last summer was one of many fires in the state to decimate property and force people from their homes. But unlike many, the burned area provided an opportunity to assess how pre-fire mitigation efforts contributed to fire loss reduction. Lessons Learned from Waldo Canyon is the Fire Adapted Communities Mitigation Assessment Team’s analysis of those results. The report finds that wildfire preparedness is most effective when it is communitywide, fuel reduction plays a significant role in limiting fire damage, and that more building design and material improvements are needed to keep homes safe.
CDC Pintrest Page
What does an agency that taps the trendiness of zombies to tout preparedness pull out of its social communication bag next? Pintrest, of course. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention have joined have joined the ranks of wedding planners and recipe mongers on the visual networking site. But don’t worry what kind of pics you’ll find there—the CDC site’s six boards contain public service campaign images on topics such as healthy living, preparedness, public health history and women’s wellness.
Wildland Fire Potential Map
When it comes to predicting large-scale wildfires, there is no crystal ball—but there is the Wildland Fire Potential Map. This raster geospatial map allows fire professionals to analyze the burn probability of landscapes on regional and national scales. The map was created by the U.S. Forest Service specifically to show places where fire would be intense and difficult to suppress. Information such as past fire occurrence, likely fire behaviors, and fuel characteristics were all incorporated to help fire professional see even further into the unknowns of the coming fire season.
Disaster Resistant Communities Group Just In Time Library
The Disaster Resistant Communities Group has long devoted itself to providing local governments and nonprofits with useful resources to assist in meeting preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation needs. Now it has another timely offering—the Just In Time video library. Filled with videos on topics such as active shooter incidents, psychological first aid, special needs shelter operations, and donation management, the library can give underfunded organizations access to training they might not get otherwise. Stop by and see what they have to offer, or submit a video of your own for community use.
Reforming Federal Support for Risky Development
In this somber funding climate, ideas to save the federal government are more welcome than usual. Why not start by cutting back the amount of money the government pays to rebuild in risky places? That’s one of several ideas Reforming Federal Support for Risky Development puts forth to reduce the amount spent responding and recovering from natural disasters. While the report authors maintain the government should still play role in providing assistance during disasters, they argue the costs of development in high-risk areas should be shared by locals, disaster resistant building should be incentivized, and the National Flood Insurance Policy should be further reformed. This report is part of a series on How to Rethink the Federal Budget.