When it comes to wildfire mitigation, whose job is it really?

Just about everyone agrees that fuel mitigation is crucial for combating the nation’s growing wildfire problem, but culture, politics, and geography can be significant barriers keeping communities from doing the work. That is more evident than ever in a just-released NFPA study on the wildfire capabilities and preparedness of local fire departments. For the study, NFPA researchers interviewed 46 high-ranking fire officials from urban and rural departments on a variety of topics related to wildfire operations, and by far, the most provocative topic was wildfire mitigation. As detailed in the new NFPA Journal article on the study, there are arguments...