Planning: FIRE-PLAN: Assessing Managed Retreat as an Adaptive Response to Wildfire Risk

Recent years have seen large numbers of buildings destroyed by wildfires, displacement of people from their homes, and high financial costs to individuals, governments, and the private sector. As the phenomena become more frequent, some researchers and policymakers have suggested relocating people and infrastructure away from high-risk areas, a strategy known as managed retreat.

The existing understanding of retreat is based mainly on studies of flooding and sea-level rise. Few examine whether retreat is an effective or equitable response to wildfire. This award supports a research project to bring together wildfire researchers, scholars of flood-based managed retreat, community members, and practitioners to co-develop a research agenda focused on the costs, benefits, and feasibility of retreat with respect to wildfire.

Managed retreat, the relocation of people and infrastructure away from environmental hazards, has been suggested as an adaptive solution to wildfire risk. This planning grant establishes a working group of scholars, practitioners, and community members with the expertise to study different forms of wildfire managed retreat. The group convenes through Organizing Committee meetings and a two-day workshop.

The workshop is organized around three propositions: 1) wildfire-exposed communities possess distinct mobility aspirations, capabilities, and perceptions of retreat; 2) conventional approaches to managed retreat, such as home buyouts, are less effective in a wildfire context due to long-term land management requirements; and 3) wildfire managed retreat requires the development of new policy and planning tools. A published proceedings report identifies knowledge gaps and future research priorities.

This line of analysis forms the basis for future large-scale projects to advance the understanding of climate relocation planning and inform wildfire policy agendas.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.