It’s Never Too Early To Start Preparing For The Next Wildfire Crisis

It’s never too early to start preparing for the next wildfire crisis. The more you prepare for such a crisis—and the sooner you do it — the more likely it is that your business will survive it.

The federal government may have had this best crisis management practice in mind when it announced in January a new commission that will make recommendations to more effectively prevent, mitigate, suppress and manage wildfires.

46 Million People At Risk

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, ”Fire departments across the country are increasingly being called upon to respond to wildland urban interface fires, including brush, grass, forest fires or other outdoor fires.

“You may believe that you don't have [this fire] problem, and that [these] fires only occur in western states, but more than 46 million residences in 70,000 communities in the United States are at risk for [the] fires.”

Three Wildfire Risks

But business executives whose companies are in areas that are prone to wildfires should not wait for the government commission to make their recommendations. That’s because there are four major types of risk that are posed by wildfires, according to Clifford Oliver, a recently retired former FEMA senior official and now the principal at Nanticoke Global Strategies. 

He said those risks include:

• Damage to assets and physical property. This is probably the most prominent risk from wildfires that businesses need to consider.
• Supply chain disruptions.
• Workplace disruptions that prevent employees from doing their jobs.

Oliver defined risk as, “the intersection of assets, hazards, and vulnerabilities. Managing the risks posed by wildfires can be somewhat different than other natural hazards [because] actions on the part of business owners and government entities can reduce the hazard, vulnerability and risk.”

Managing Wildfire Hazards

He observed that, “although many natural hazards, such [as] earthquakes and hurricanes cannot be managed or reduced [that] to some degree wildfire hazards can be.

“Business owners can, depending on the sites where their assets are located, play a role by managing the vegetation surrounding their sites. The cost of such onsite vegetative management can vary widely but can sometimes be as simple as trimming trees and bushes as well as removing dead and diseased vegetation,” Oliver comments.

“More complex approaches can include choosing drought and fire-resistant types of vegetation and [limit] the location of vegetation near structures and other assets. Consulting an arborist and landscaper are good first steps,” he advised.

There are some preventative steps that others may require businesses to take.

Oliver noted that, “insurance companies, through their loss mitigation efforts, may require businesses to undertake wildfire mitigation measures that can include the design and use of fire-retardant materials in the shells of structures, including the roof, and exterior opening protection against burning ember penetration.

“There could also be requirements concerning the onsite storage of flammable materials.”

He cautioned that some prevention measures can only be carried out by the government. They include, “Vegetative management and fuel source management through such measures as selective fuel harvesting and controlled burns [which] can reduce the presence of wildfire hazards. “

Going Above and Beyond

Oliver said that executives of businesses with assets in wildfire-prone areas should consider establishing an interdisciplinary team. Members could include their risk managers, facilities management staff, their insurance companies, as well as local building and fire safety officials.

The team would explore going beyond building and fire code and/or insurance required wildfire mitigation requirements.

Got Goats?

One innovative way of going above and beyond what’s required is the use of goats to help reduce the threat of wildfires.

The New York Times reported recently that, “When megafires burn in unison and harsh droughts parch the West, local governments, utilities and companies struggle with how to prevent outbreaks, especially as each year brings record destruction.”

The paper profiled a goat herder who is “a pioneer in using the animals to restore fire-ravaged lands to greener pastures and make them less prone to the spread of blazes.”