The West on Fire

Members of the University community work to mitigate wildfire risk

The 2020 wildfire season was one of the most devastating on record for California and the U.S. as a whole, based on data from the National Interagency Fire Center. By the end of November 2020, there had been more than 50,000 wildfires that burned more than 8 million acres, with nearly half that acreage burning in California. The West was most significantly impacted by these fires, and people from Washington to Nevada to southern California were coping with both the immediate danger and the impact of horrendous air quality for months.

Lives and livelihoods were in peril during the ongoing threat posed by these massive fires. In southern Oregon, numerous small communities were completely destroyed — leaving people not only homeless, but jobless as well. Some are still suffering long-term health problems months after fires have been extinguished.

Now, in efforts to mitigate the danger, faculty and staff at the University of Nevada, Reno are taking steps to understand and reduce the threat of wildfire, which is a concern for all who call this region home.

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