We can’t stop the wildfire, but The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety has the science to provide measures to reduce property losses and prevent avoidable suffering. The Wildfire Ready Home website provides the specific actions homeowners can take.
Wildfire Preparedness
Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG)
The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program provides grants to communities at risk from wildfire to develop or revise their community wildfire protection plans and carry out mitigation projects described within those plans. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service.
Capacity-Building Toolkit for including Aging and Disability Networks in Emergency Planning
Developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in coordination with the National Association of County and City Health Officials, this free toolkit provides a resources guide for aging and disability networks to plan for and respond to disasters. Content is designed to support those with access and functional needs.
Ready.Gov
Ready.gov provides free information for all people seeking to prepare for disasters. This resource includes material tailored to individuals with access and functional needs. Information includes important planning considerations, emergency communication plan templates, and videos with open captions and American Sign Language.
Community Engagement Toolkit
These free toolkits each contain a 3-part video series, presentation template with facilitator’s notes, and sample agendas (including resource links). The videos are in Spanish with English subtitles and cover topics including landscapes, communities, evacuation, smoke, home hardening, and resident recovery.
Limited English Proficiency
LEP.gov provides resources and information to expand and improve language access for individuals with limited English proficiency. The site provides data and language maps as well as guidance and resources for those working in emergency preparedness.
WiRē
The Wildfire Research (WiRē) Center is a nonprofit organization that works with wildfire practitioners to seek locally-tailored pathways to create fire adapted communities. The WiRē Center builds on the findings and the approach of the WiRē Team, a decade-plus partnership between wildfire practitioners and researchers focusing on new approaches to integrating local social science into wildfire education and mitigation programs.
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) offers several grant opportunities for wildfire in its Hazard Mitigation Assistance program. The Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program awards planning and project grants to states, territories, federally recognized tribes, and local communities to implement a sustained, pre-disaster natural hazard mitigation program to raise public awareness about taking action before disaster strikes.