2020 is the worst fire season on record, with nearly 13 million acres burned, 14,000 structures destroyed, and fire suppression costs reaching the $3 billion mark. These numbers—acreage the size of Maryland, and a building toll that would cover a third of Manhattan—still don't do justice to the cost of all the damage.

Blazes destroyed entire towns like Malden, Wash. Dozens have died. Mental and physical health concerns have plagued communities already battling a respiratory pandemic, COVID-19. States cannot afford to keep up with costs and coverage, and aid is a political sticking point at the federal level, as recent tension between the White House and California has shown.

Year after year, details change but headlines repeat—fires across western states scorch forests, rangeland, and neighborhoods, wreaking havoc on rural economies and pushing smoke into cities. Despite their near universal effects, a loose patchwork of agencies and responders battle wildfires. The 2020 season is more evidence that this piecemeal approach isn't working. If the West is to survive, we must develop a comprehensive fire strategy.

The current approach to wildfire management does not account for these disasters' complexities. Climate change, forest mismanagement, aging infrastructure sparking blazes, c in high-risk areas, and incentives that favor response over mitigation all play a role in shaping wildfire risk. Truly addressing risk is about intervening at every critical point to prevent destructive fires.

It is also about managing trade-offs: Preventative prescribed burns reduce risk but produce smoke; a reliance on seasonal firefighters lowers costs but creates a systemic brain drain; and housing policies that push neighborhoods into dangerous territory maintain a status quo on our street maps while perpetuating social inequities—people of color and those impoverished are often the first in harm's way. If we want to reduce risk, we need a strategy that considers all these factors and more.

Read the full article about building a wildfire management strategy by Jay Balagna and Aaron Clark-Ginsberg at RAND Corporation.