Spark Report Blog
Wildfire is a complex topic. Because articles on wildfire are often written from one perspective, they can generate more questions than answers. Black Swan’s commentary on the articles in this blog help provide balance and better understanding of proposed wildfire solutions.
Letter from the Editor
Trees Are Life-Saving – As early as elementary school, teachers remind us that math will follow us through our entire life. We need it for everything. In this month’s newsletter, the climate change phenomenon and its impact on forests and wil...
State of the States – September 2021
As wildfires burn out of control across the globe, victims are looking to point the finger of blame. Are wildfires and unhealthy forests causing climate change, or is climate change causing wildfires and weakened forests? Regardless of the cause, the...
Healthy Forests for a Healthy America
Healthy forests are our best defense against the effects of climate change. The REPLANT Act provides dedicated permanent funding needed to restore and maintain the natural infrastructure values of our national forests. REPLANT, included in the Bipart...
Climate Change Hope Goes up in Flames
Wildfires in the western U.S. are burning “protected forests” on private lands that were set aside specifically to counterbalance the carbon dioxide that humans continually pump into the atmosphere. These forests are part of a carbon offs...
Hot Spot – September 2021
California FAIR Plan Champions Change in 2021 – After evaluating multiple solutions, California’s insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan, has decided to stop using an outdated wildfire risk assessment model. Instead, it has moved to...
Wildfire Mitigation Matters. Who’s Counting?
After evaluating multiple solutions, the state’s insurer of last resort has selected a new wildfire risk model to better understand and mitigate wildfire risk at the individual property level. The new model contains two popular features from the ne...
West Coast Wildfires a National Issue
Wildfires are clouding skies for all Americans. It doesn’t matter where you live or where the wildfire is, smoke gets in everyone’s lives. In Minnesota, children in St. Paul were dealing with large department stores that were burned to th...
Focus on the Prize: Eliminating Wildfire Losses
If there were ever a time for wildfire scientists to reach a consensus with government officials, insurance companies, fire protection associations, environmentalists and the public, that time is now. Wildfire is on top of everyone’s mind. However,...
State of the States – August 2021
Is it really getting worse everywhere? The above map shows the worst wildfire year for each state according to the number of wildfires. If wildfire were getting worse everywhere, the entire map would be dark green; if it were getting better, the full...
Fighting Fire with Forests
Today’s problem could be tomorrow’s solution. Forests currently only remove about 33% of the world’s carbon emissions each year. With forest restoration investments, forests could remove 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annua...
Wildfire Restores Yosemite Watershed
For nearly 50 years, wildland fires have burned freely in select national parks across California to prove that frequent fires strengthen resiliency against both wildfire and drought when allowed to burn and smolder in the underbrush for months. Just...
Hot Spot – August 2021
Foresters in Congress – American forests are unhealthy, and it will take an act of Congress—maybe several—to change that. We have had the tools at our disposal to reduce and prevent fires and, still, wildfire “season” has become a year-...
When Fire Suppression Backfires
Environmentalists protect a rare ecosystem that survives only in dead or decaying trees. Logging was prevented, mitigation plans halted, and dead pine stands led to devastating wildfire, causing irreparable damage to all ecosystems in the area. BARK,...
The Proof is in the Pudding (Slope and Aspect Matter!)
Nine months after Beachie Creek Fire, road closures remained in place for public safety from smoldering ash pits, hazard trees (trees damaged by wildfire prone to fall with wind and/or gravity) and roadway issues that include damaged asphalt and guar...
Helping Locals, Stalling Area Resiliency
Oregonians eager to recover after 2020 wildfires may now forgo adopting new building code standards for properties in wildfire areas. Property owners may rebuild without going through the permit process or adopting 2018 Wildland Urban Interface build...
It’s Only “Fair”: Have Farmers Mitigate to Keep Insurance
Small business owners find themselves left out in the cold when it comes to finding coverage for property in wildfire areas. Auto assigned risk pool won’t accept Farm Equipment and FAIR Plan won’t cover vehicles. When insurance isn’t an opt...
We’re All in This Together
As a long-time researcher and advocate for wildfire risk stakeholders, I’ve been in this space for over a decade, dedicating my career to helping others preserve life, property and the planet. Black Swan Analytics grew out of that desire to serve. ...
State of the States
This map shows by acreage burned the worst wildfire year since 2010 across the U.S. Clearly, wildfire is not getting worse everywhere. According to the data, 2020 was the worst year for only seven states; 2011 was the worst for 17 states. This illust...
Stop the Burn: Moving Forward Means Trusting Science
California has a severe housing shortage and above-average housing costs that include a wide array of residential property types. Adding more housing units is the obvious solution to overcrowding and soaring real estate prices. Simple supply and dema...
Let’s Turn Your Insurance Company from Foe to Friend
It is not uncommon for a policy to be non-renewed by one company and accepted by another when different wildfire models are used in the decisioning. Many factors impact a property’s wildfire risk and exposure to loss. Every modeler includes the fac...
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