Preparing for Natural Disasters Part 1: Fire and Smoke

Wildfires are bigger, burning longer, causing more damage and impacting public health more than ever. Wildfires can quickly turn into a disaster when they enter the wildland urban interface, where structures and other human development meet with undeveloped wildland or vegetation fuel.

Land trusts are in a unique position to proactively reduce the risk of WUI fires both by safeguarding wildlands from development and by applying best practices to operations and stewardship efforts. This session is presented by Marilyn Black, PhD, LEED AP, vice president and senior technical and strategic advisor at Chemical Insights Research Institute; Alister Watt, chief product officer with Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety; Lena Pollastro from Land Trust of Napa County; and Kelly Watkinson, land and climate program manager at the Land Trust Alliance.

Here’s a look at what we will cover:

• How climate change increases fire risks and what makes WUI fires unique and more hazardous for public health and the environment.

• How to apply a wildfire lens to assess and mitigate risks to land trust operations, conservation, monitoring and management practices.

• Examples of best practices, lessons learned and land trust experiences preparing for and recovering from smoke and fire.

• The system of actions in IBHS’s Wildfire Prepared Home designation program that when taken together, meaningfully reduce the risk of wildfire.

Fire and Smoke is part one of Preparing for Natural Disasters, a webinar series about the adverse impacts natural disasters can have on conservation lands, land trust operations and the permanence of conservation. Throughout the series, participants will learn about different natural disasters and be connected to new Alliance resources to help assess and address risks associated with these changing conditions. See Part 2: Wind and Water

If your organization is a Terrafirma member and anyone on your staff or board attends this webinar, your organization will receive the Terrafirma risk management discount for the 2024 policy year.