Author: Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dwellings
Languages : en
Pages : 18
Book Description
"To better understand the current and future implications for Montana's taxpayers, Headwaters Economics analyzed daily fire suppression costs across 18 large fires that burned in Montana during 2006 and 2007, systematically distilling out the portion of total fire suppression costs directly associated with housing--that is: the dramatically higher costs required to fight fires in the 'Wildland Urban Interface' ... Key findings of our research include: · Firefighting costs are highly correlated with the number of homes threatened by a fire. · The pattern of development (dense vs. spread out) is an important contributing factor. · When large forest fires burn near homes, costs related to housing usually exceed $1 million per fire. · As few as 150 additional homes threatened by fire can result in a $13 million increase in suppression costs in a single year. · For all agencies involved in fire suppression in Montana, the estimated annual costs related to home protection for 2006 and 2007 were approximately $55 million and $36 million, respectively. · If current development trends continue, fires seasons similar to 2006 and 2007 could cost $15 to $23 million more by 2025, bringing total fire suppression costs associated with homes to between $51 and $79 million dollars. Adjusted for inflation, future costs could be as high as $124 million in 2025. · A conservative estimate is that 25% of all costs of protecting homes from wildfires within Montana are paid for by the state. Therefore, Montana's costs for home protection in 2006 and 2007 are estimated to have been $13.9 million and $9.2 million, respectively. By 2025, Montana's future costs, adjusted for inflation, could be as high as $31 million"--Exec. summary.