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Resilient development

Resilient development integrates wildfire risk into the way communities are planned, built and managed, reducing exposure and vulnerability before disasters occur.

Preventing new development in the highest-risk areas, maintaining defensible space around settlements, protecting critical infrastructure and preserving natural buffers can all help reduce the likelihood that wildfires become catastrophic disasters.

Resilient building and mitigation practices are a cornerstone of this approach. Fire-resistant construction materials, ember-resistant design, appropriate roofing and ventilation systems, and the use of building codes tailored to wildfire hazards can significantly improve the survivability of homes and public infrastructure.

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Update
AU: Most vulnerable properties face 3.6 risk of severe bushfire damage

Analysis of more than 36,000 buildings affected by the January Victorian bushfires shows why broad hazard assessments alone cannot reveal the vulnerability of individual properties.

Nearmap
Update
Fire‑damaged historic buildings may not be as ruined as they appear

In a summer of wildfires severe enough to trigger Spain’s first-ever national emergency for a forest fire, a historic stone structure called the Nevera de Castro stands in a landscape burned bare in the Castellón region

Conversation Media Group, the
Update
Additional benefits of wildfire-resistant homes

A growing wildfire threat and rising home insurance costs are driving many homeowners to make their homes more wildfire resistant. Many upgrades also provide lasting benefits beyond lower wildfire losses that can offset the initial investment over time.

Headwaters Economics
Update
Wildfires can contaminate nearby homes and water systems

While there are many safety concerns after a wildfire, three deserve particular attention: chemicals in surviving buildings, the safety of drinking water and whether burned lots are ready for rebuilding.

Conversation Media Group, the
Research briefs
USA: Lessons from the 2025 California wildfires—why DRR falls short

A paper published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences in April 2026 uses the 2025 California wildfires as a starting point to discuss broader systemic failures in disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Climate Adaptation Platform (CAP)
Research briefs
Model could help set effective subsidies for wildfire mitigation

A model developed by Washington State University researchers could someday help communities determine how best to motivate homeowners to prepare their properties for possible wildfires.

Washington State University
Update
US: How to reduce community wildfire risk for a resilient California

Effective wildfire mitigation requires coordinated action across homes, communities, and landscapes, with community-scale action playing a leading role in reducing overall risk.

Environmental Defense Fund
Update
Could geoengineering work to tamp down Super El Niños?

A 2019 Australian bushfire provided a rare opportunity to scientists by creating an effect analogous to what could be achieved through the geoengineering technique known as marine cloud brightening.

University of California, San Diego
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