Experts available to discuss 2025 wildfire season in North America
As wildfires continue to burn through Western Canada, scientists warn that parts of North America like California and southern Colorado could see heightened wildfire risks because of hot and dry conditions. ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï faculty experts are available to discuss how climate change is exacerbating grassland fires in the American West, and ways to protect yourself and your property:
Email cunews@colorado.edu to schedule interviews with experts.Ìý
Making homes and neighborhoods more resilient to wildfires
Abbie Liel, professor of engineering, is available to discuss the factors that make homes and neighborhoods more resilient to wildfire. Her recent research has focused on the Marshall Fire of December 2021 in Boulder County, and in a study last year she found that home building materials, neighborhood layouts and community policies can all play important roles in keeping communities safer.Ìý
ÌýÌýRead: What makes some homes, neighborhoods more likely to survive wildfire? New research offers insight
Reducing wildfire risk near grasslands
Katharine Suding is a distinguished professor of ecology. She is available to talk about how grassland fires—such as those occurring in Colorado and California—differ from forest fires, as well as strategies to reduce the fire risk of living in wildfire-prone grasslands.Ìý
ÌýÌýRead: Rainy spring may be bad news for fire season. Here’s what you can do about it
Widespread underinsurance for wildfire damage
Tony Cookson, finance professor in the Leeds School of Business, is available to discuss a growing risk for homeowners: underinsurance. Researchers analyzing claims from Colorado’s 2021 Marshall Fire found that 74% of affected homeowners were underinsured, with many facing six-figure shortfalls. The study points to insurance company differences, not homeowner inaction, as a key factor behind these gaps in coverage.
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Wildfire smoke and indoor air quality
Joost de Gouw, professor of chemistry and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is available to talk about Ìýthe sources and chemical transformations of air pollutants in the atmosphere and indoor environments from wildfires. In his recent study, he found harmful air pollutants lingered in homes for weeks following the Marshall Fire.Ìý
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Colleen Reid, associate professor of geography, can discuss the health impacts of extreme heat and wildfire smoke and the potentially hazardous indoor air quality that persists after urban wildfires.
ÌýÌýRead: and Heat waves are more dangerous than you think. Here’s why, and how to stay safe
Wind and wildfires | Climate Change
is an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. They study the impact of El Niño and La Niña on global climate, and can discuss how climate change is worsening certain extreme weather events and natural disasters.Ìý
Impact on children and vulnerable populations
Lori Peek, director of the Natural Hazards Center at ºÚÁϳԹÏ, can discuss the importance of wildfire preparation as well as the unique and enduring impacts of natural disasters on vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Peek has written several books on the human effects of disaster, including co-authoring , one of the only multi-year studies exploring what happens to children after disasters.
ÌýÌýRead: Rebuilding lives after headlines fade and
Impact on the incarcerated
Shawhin Roudbari, associate professor of environmental design, can discuss how jails and prisons often fail to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters like wildfires.
ÌýÌýRead: Ìý
Animals and natural disasters
Leslie Irvine is a professor in the Department of Sociology. She studies animal sheltering, abuse and welfare. She can discuss the impact of natural disasters on animals and how to keep pets safe during wildfires.
ÌýÌýRead:Ìý‘To save our pets, we need to know our neighbors.’ Lessons from the Marshall Fire (from 2022)Ìý
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