Zeke recently went to the 10th annual International Fire Ecology and Management Congress where he gave two separate talks, one of which his only instruction was to “be provocative.” Zeke was happy to deliver a talk that centered on the radical idea that towns that burn down need to be reconfigured so that they are rebuilt safer and with wildfire in mind. In other words, towns will burn down. Let’s plan for that. Other highlights from the conference were the emphasis on cultural burns and the good company of so many folks who care about getting right with fire.
As always, Zeke talk moved people including a reporter from KQED, the Bay Area radio station, who interviewed Zeke at the conference. Here’s their article, More California Towns Will Burn. We Should Plan for That (KQED).
From the article:
Lunder has spent his career in fire, with experience both in fire suppression and lighting beneficial burns. He now runs Deer Creek Resources, a wildfire mapping and consulting company, and has a thesis: more towns across California are primed to burn down than ever. He said the state is not planning for that — but it should.
“We need to anticipate that these towns are going to burn down, and we should redevelop them radically after it happens,” Lunder said.
Radical post-fire planning is a subject close to Zeke’s heart. He hopes that we can learn from Paradise and the Camp Fire and do better living in the foothills where we can. Ultimately, Zeke prods us to accept some towns will eventually burn down and as tragic as the occasion will be, it’s better to plan for that.