Frank Frievalt On America's Wildfire Nightmare

While the Los Angeles fires continue to rage, the debate on what should be done — and indeed what can be done — to prepare and protect communities from these kinds of infernos is heating up.

The multiple blazes are also highlighting the frightening potential for fire risk to rip through the financial system, wrecking homeowners, insurers, and government budgets in the process.

In today's episode, Frank Frievalt, Director of the Wildland-Urban Interface FIRE Institute at Cal Poly, discusses the changing nature of wildfires and urban conflagrations under climate change, and the challenges in mitigating their physical and financial risks.

Frank shares his professional insights on how the warming climate is contributing to fiercer fires and the difficulties motivating wildfire risk mitigation among vulnerable communities.

He also offers insights on the transmission mechanisms through which growing wildfire risks could spark a new financial crisis.

Listen below, download from the Podcasts page on Climate Proof, or tune in via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

We talk about:

👉 The extreme conditions driving the LA fires and the underlying factors increasing fire risk in California: vapor pressure deficit, urbanization, and accumulation of fuels

👉 How the intertwining of human development and the wildland-urban interface is complicating fire response and risk management

👉 The challenges aligning fire mitigation efforts between local fire services and the insurance industry

👉 The new economics of fire risk, and its ramifications for insurers, lenders, municipal bond markets, and government budgets

👉 What innovations in policies and standards could drive improved fire risk mitigation efforts

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Thanks for listening!

Louie Woodall
Editor