Each year, wildfires take lives and burn numerous structures, resulting in mounting costs that have enormous economic and environmental impacts to the nation’s communities and businesses. Wildfires also have devastating impacts on the environment and damage forests, rangelands, watersheds and wildlife. However, there are steps you can take to protect lives and property at home and in your community. Here are some resources to help you plan:
- CDC: Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke
- ICC: Protect Your Home
- ICC: Surviving a wildfire
- ICC: Building Safety Month 2018, Week 3: Protecting Communities from Disasters
- ICC: Building Safety Month 2018, Week 3: Wildfire Danger Interactive Poster
- Preparing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. This handbook is sponsored by the Communities Committee, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Foresters, Society of American Foresters and the Western Governors’ Association.
- A Community Wildfire Protection Plan. This fill-in-the blank form will help you to identify the resources and strategies to protect your community. Tab through the document and fill in the necessary information.
- ICC 2008 National Blue Ribbon Panel on Wildland Urban Interface Fire
- National Incident Information Center A morning report of daily wildfire activities around the country, statistics and past year analysis at this site hosted by the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Association of State Foresters.
- National Interagency Fire Center The nation’s national logistical center provides current specific wildfire information, statistics, prevention and education materials.
- InciWeb -- The Wildland Fire and Incident Information System links directly to major wildfire incidents around the United States, showing the latest information as it comes in.
- ICC's Building Safety Journal Online, October 2014: Changing Construction Practices in Wildfire-Prone Areas to Reduce Building Ignition
- American Red Cross
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Association of State Foresters (NASF)
- National Park Service
- National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center
- National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
- National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)
- Program for Climate, Ecosystem and Fire Applications (CEFA)
- USDA Forest Service
- USFS Forest Fire Laboratory
- U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Western Regional Climate Center
- Australasian Fire Authorities Council
- Canadian Forest Service Fire Research Network
- Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
- Eurasian Fire in Nature Conservation Network
- Global Fire Monitoring Center
- Fire Protection Association Australia
- New South Wales Rural Fire Service
- New Zealand National Rural Fire Authority
- International Association of Wildland Fire
Protect your home and family from wildfire
- CDC: Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke
- ICC: Protect Your Home
- ICC: Surviving a wildfire
- ICC: Building Safety Month 2018, Week 3: Protecting Communities from Disasters
- ICC: Building Safety Month 2018, Week 3: Wildfire Danger Interactive Poster
Sites for Kids
Protect your community from wildfire
- Preparing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. This handbook is sponsored by the Communities Committee, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Foresters, Society of American Foresters and the Western Governors’ Association.
- A Community Wildfire Protection Plan. This fill-in-the blank form will help you to identify the resources and strategies to protect your community. Tab through the document and fill in the necessary information.
- ICC 2008 National Blue Ribbon Panel on Wildland Urban Interface Fire
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners – the International Code Council and approximately 20 other founding-member international organizations -- created the Fire Management Actions Alliance (FMAA) to stimulate improved fire management and reduce damage from fire worldwide. The FMAA Charter provided for the development of a strategy to improve international cooperation in fire management, which included Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines. These guidelines provide an international framework, outline cross-sectoral issues, detail the principles and attributes needed to balance the social, cultural, environmental and economic dimensions of fire management, and prescribe key actions for the planning and management of fires.
Additional Wildfire Resources
- National Incident Information Center A morning report of daily wildfire activities around the country, statistics and past year analysis at this site hosted by the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Association of State Foresters.
- National Interagency Fire Center The nation’s national logistical center provides current specific wildfire information, statistics, prevention and education materials.
- InciWeb -- The Wildland Fire and Incident Information System links directly to major wildfire incidents around the United States, showing the latest information as it comes in.
- ICC's Building Safety Journal Online, October 2014: Changing Construction Practices in Wildfire-Prone Areas to Reduce Building Ignition
Helpful Links
In the US
- American Red Cross
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Association of State Foresters (NASF)
- National Park Service
- National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center
- National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
- National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)
- Program for Climate, Ecosystem and Fire Applications (CEFA)
- USDA Forest Service
- USFS Forest Fire Laboratory
- U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Western Regional Climate Center
Internationally
- Australasian Fire Authorities Council
- Canadian Forest Service Fire Research Network
- Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
- Eurasian Fire in Nature Conservation Network
- Global Fire Monitoring Center
- Fire Protection Association Australia
- New South Wales Rural Fire Service
- New Zealand National Rural Fire Authority
- International Association of Wildland Fire
News Articles
Fast-moving fire erupts north of Redding, Calif., shutting down Interstate 5
Mendocino Complex wildfire becomes largest in state history
Carr Fire Latest: 47% Contained, 167,113 Acres Burned
California is on fire again. Here's how the 2018 fire season began
USA Today: Natural disasters caused record $306 billion in damage to U.S. in 2017
SoCal wildfires highlight need for home fire safety
Southern California fire is 'out of control,' forcing thousands to evacuate
Wildfires In Southern California Force Thousands Of People To Flee
PBS Newshour: This cartoonist drew what it was like to lose almost everything in the California wildfires
Modeler: Insured Losses for California Wildfires Could Reach $10.5B
Insurers Had Crews Working in Heart of California Wildfires to Prevent Loss
U.S., States Struggle to Pay Spiraling Cost of Fighting Fires
This Season, Western Wildfires Are Close By and Running Free
Cost of fighting U.S. wildfires topped $2 billion in 2017
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