Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX) and cooperative burns provide experiential training that builds robust local capacity for fire management and offers professional fire practitioners a more holistic perspective—while implementing treatments that support community and landscape objectives. The key focus of TREX is promoting the spread of effective cooperative burning—helping diverse partners leverage skills, resources and staff in ways that maximize opportunities for outreach, treatment and training.
Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils
The overarching goal of the Coalition is to create one voice to assist fire practitioners, policymakers, regulators, and citizens with issues surrounding prescribed fire use. The Coalition’s core mission is to promote the appropriate use of prescribed fire for enhancing public safety, managing resources, and sustaining environment quality. In addition, the Coalition encourages and facilitates the organization of prescribed fire councils in states that lack active councils.
Volunteer Fire Assistance
The VFA program, formerly known as the Rural Community Fire Protection program, is administered by State Forestry agencies through 50-50 cost-sharing grants to local fire departments located in rural communities. The program’s main goal is to provide federal financial, technical and other assistance in the organization, training and equipping of fire departments in rural areas, defined as having a population of 10,000 or less.
Smoke-Ready Toolbox for Wildfires
Public health officials and others can use the resources in the EPA’s Smoke-Ready Toolbox to help educate people about the risks of smoke exposure and actions they can take to protect their health.
Populations at Risk
Populations at Risk– a tool from Headwaters Economics–generates free, customized reports with socioeconomic information about populations more likely to experience adverse social, health, or economic outcomes due to their race, age, gender, poverty status, or other factors. Reports use data from the Census’ American Community Survey (ACS) and are available at multiple scales, from neighborhoods to states.
American Planning Association: Planning the Wildland-Urban Interface
This free guide from the American Planning Association offers planners an in-depth introduction to the WUI and wildfire basics, covering challenges, trends, and historical context along with the latest wildfire science. It then moves to solutions, providing a holistic planning framework and practical guidance on how to address WUI and wildfire challenges in plans, policies, and regulations.
NACo County Wildfire Playbook
The National Association of Counties (NACo) produced this county leadership guide to help communities become more fire adapted and learn to live with wildland fire. The playbook has been designed by county commissioners, for county commissioners, as they endeavor to fortify and protect communities from high severity impacts of wildland fire.
Disaster Safety
Disaster Safety features projects to help home and business owners protect their property from damage caused by wildfire and other natural disasters. This site is a product of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)—a nonprofit, scientific research and communications organization supported solely by property insurers and reinsurers.
FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program
The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) manages several grant opportunities for wildfire in their Hazard Mitigation Assistance program. The Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program is awards planning and project grants to assist states, territories, federally-recognized tribes, and local communities in implementing a sustained pre-disaster natural hazard mitigation program to raise public awareness about reducing future losses before disaster strikes.
Hispanic Access Foundation Wildfire Toolkit
Latino communities are more vulnerable to experiencing the adverse effects of wildfires. The Hispanic Access Foundation Wildfire Toolkit provides resources about regulations and policies, public and mental health, and response and recovery issues to help communities address Latino considerations related to wildfire.