Missoula County Commissioner Strohmeyer emphasizes urgency in wildfire management reforms

In a recent meeting hosted by City Club Missoula, discussions centered on the urgent need for a paradigm shift in how communities approach wildfire management. The conversation highlighted the historical practices of indigenous cultures, which utilized prescribed burning for agricultural and hunting benefits. This knowledge, according to speakers, has been largely forgotten, leading to a contemporary fear of fire that prioritizes suppression over coexistence.

Jessica Hawes, a former colleague of the speakers, emphasized the importance of "relearning how to live with fire." She pointed out that society has developed a mindset that assumes fire can always be controlled, which poses risks to both people and property. The speakers argued that this mindset must change to foster necessary investments in wildfire resilience.

Currently, funding for wildfire defense at the federal level is limited, with the Community Wildfire Defense Grant being one of the few available resources. However, this grant has restrictions that complicate its use for essential home hardening efforts. The speakers noted that addressing wildfire risks requires an interdisciplinary approach that combines urban planning, structural engineering, and fire ecology, yet no single agency effectively manages this complex field.

The urgency of the situation was underscored by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, which many view as a new normal. The speakers called for collective action across all sectors of society to address these challenges and prevent further normalization of destructive wildfire events. They expressed hope that increased political pressure would lead to more substantial investments in wildfire resilience, emphasizing that the time to act is now.