Headwaters Economics, a nonpartisan economic research center in Montana, published an excellent summary on the rising costs of wildland fires in the West. Their extensive analysis covers several areas in detail:
- A report on why wildfires are becoming more severe and expensive, and how the protection of homes in the Wildland-Urban Interface has added to these costs.
- The potential for new home development in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) at the county and state level.
- State-specific research on the impact of new homes and temperature change on wildfire suppression costs.
- White Paper with suggestions for how future firefighting costs best can be controlled.
http://headwaterseconomics.org/wildfire/fire-research-summary