A (Non-Exhaustive) Starter List of Resources
Wildfire resilience is a broad and growing field. Whether you’re a homeowner looking to better understand risk, a practitioner seeking new tools and connections, or simply someone curious about living with fire, there are countless resources available.
The list below is not intended to be comprehensive. Instead, it’s a starting point—a collection of organizations, articles, tools, and programs that can help deepen your understanding of wildfire resilience and the many people, ecosystems, and communities involved in this work. Click in to the tabs to see additional resources under a topical focus.
Alerts, Notifications, and Air Quality
When wildfire activity increases, timely information matters.
AirNow Fire and Smoke Map helps track smoke impacts and air quality conditions across the United States.
Watch Duty provides real-time wildfire alerts, maps, and incident updates.
InciWeb serves as a federal source for incident information on active wildfires.
Communication and Public Outreach
Wildfire resilience depends on effective communication, trusted messengers, and meaningful community engagement.
Learn community engagement strategies for fire preparedness and resilience.
Watch Fire Adapted Network’s media and communications webinar series: What We Talk About When We Talk About Fire.
Explore outreach resources for Extension professionals and educators.
Evacuation and Emergency Preparedness
Preparation before a wildfire occurs can make evacuation safer and less stressful.
Review wildfire evacuation guidance from the U.S. Fire Administration.
Check out FAC Net’s evacuation planning blog with researchers for practitioners and researchers.
Assemble a “go bag” with essential medications, important documents, clothing, chargers, food, water, and supplies for pets and family members.
Fire Adapted Communities
Wildfire resilience is about more than fuels and forests—it is also about people, relationships, and community action.
Explore the Wildfire Resilience Index to better understand community-level resilience indicators.
Learn how the Fire Adapted Communities Neighborhood Ambassador approach helps residents engage their neighbors in preparedness efforts.
Read When Everything Falls Apart, Can Communities Come Together? for insights into social cohesion and collective action before and after disasters.
Fire-Adapted Plants and Ecosystems
Many ecosystems evolved with fire and depend on it to remain healthy and resilient.
Explore examples of forest restoration work occurring across western dry forests.
Learn about the ecology and restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem through resources from the Longleaf Alliance.
Read about fire-adapted plants and animals and the role wildfire plays in maintaining resilient ecosystems.
Fire and Art
Art can help people connect emotionally and culturally with fire in ways that scientific information alone cannot.
Learn about the Fire and Music Project, which uses storytelling and music to spark conversations about living with fire.
Explore the Joint Fire Science Program’s work on art, communication, and wildfire engagement.
Fire Ecology
To live with fire, it helps to understand fire’s ecological role.
The Fire Ecology journal also maintains a collection of articles and resources covering fire science, management, and cultural burning practices.
Explore recent research on fire ecology and resilience through this overview article: Fire Ecology and the Future of Fire-Adapted Landscapes.
Indigenous Cultural Burning
For millennia, Indigenous peoples have used cultural burning to steward landscapes, support biodiversity, reduce hazardous fuels, and maintain cultural connections.
Explore the growing body of research and storytelling on cultural fire through the Fire Ecology cultural fire resource collection.
Learn about the cultural burning practices of the Karuk Tribe and other Indigenous communities through the recent Many Paths video.
Practitioner Mental Health and Wellbeing
Wildfire resilience work can be deeply rewarding—but also physically and emotionally demanding.
The Grassroots Wildland Firefighters Health and Safety Resources page includes tools and information designed to support the wildland fire workforce.
Browse Fire Adapted Network blog posts focused on wellbeing, burnout, and practitioner support.
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is one of the most important tools available for reducing wildfire risk and restoring fire-adapted ecosystems.
Explore a national map of prescribed burn associations to find groups operating in your region.
Learn about challenges and opportunities for expanding prescribed fire capacity in the western United States.
Follow regional updates and resources through the Southeast Fire Update and calpba.org.
Find state-level prescribed fire councils through the National Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils.
Smoke Impacts and Public Health
Wildfire smoke affects millions of people each year, often far from the flames themselves.
Learn how to create a cleaner indoor air space, including DIY air cleaner options.
Start with Smoke Ready Communities: A Resource Roundup from the Blog Archives.
Explore research on smoke impacts and community preparedness.
Review public health information from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Wildland-Urban Interface, Housing, and Land Use
Community resilience is shaped by how and where we build.
Review guidance on low-flammability plants developed for Colorado communities.
Read From One Parcel to a Whole Community for a broader perspective on neighborhood-scale resilience.
Explore what current science says about fire-retardant coatings and structure protection.
Learn about fire-resistant landscaping strategies.
Workforce Development and Careers
Building wildfire resilience requires people—and a growing workforce.
Read Scaling Work and Workers Together in the Wildfire Resilience Space to explore opportunities and challenges in workforce development, training, and long-term capacity building.
Wildfire resilience is not a destination—it’s an ongoing practice of learning, adapting, and working together.
This list represents only a small sample of the knowledge, organizations, and tools available. We encourage you to explore these resources, share them with your community, and continue building your understanding of what it means to live well with fire.
Have a favorite wildfire resilience resource? Let us know in the comments!
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