A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Climate change is pushing more wildfires into cities and suburbs that really aren't used to them, but reducing wildfire risk is possible. As part of NPR's Climate Solutions Week, Colorado Public Radio's Ishan Thakore takes us to a neighborhood that did just that.
ISHAN THAKORE, BYLINE: In 2021, the Marshall Fire ripped through Ann Brennan's (ph) neighborhood in Louisville, Colorado. It's near Boulder. Afterwards, she and her neighbors had to make a decision - stay and rebuild or leave.
ANN BRENNAN: It was a very tough - I think we all wrestled with that choice.
THAKORE: At first, she wasn't sure, but as more neighbors returned, she said it built some momentum.
BRENNAN: You know, well, if y'all are coming back, and if y'all are coming back, and if y'all are coming back, then...
THAKORE: Rebuilding after the fire brought their entire neighborhood closer. Lisa Hughes (ph) has lived next to Brennan for decades.
LISA HUGHES: I didn't know that many of the other neighbors in the neighborhood prior to the fire, but now I do.
THAKORE: The Marshall Fire was unusual. It started in grassland, but spread really fast, reaching deep into the suburbs where people had never really worried about wildfire. Jennifer Balch is a fire expert at the University of Colorado Boulder.
JENNIFER BALCH: To see a Chuck E. Cheese evacuated and a Costco evacuated, to see a hotel burned down on 36 was a very different wildfire than what I have been used to seeing.
THAKORE: She says fires like that are becoming more likely. Climate change is increasing wildfire risk by changing weather patterns and drying out more places.
BALCH: We need to stop thinking about fire as a problem that just happens out in the middle of the woods to thinking about our homes as fuels, too.
THAKORE: Everything in our homes is super flammable, says Kimiko Barrett. She works at Headwaters Economics, a research group. She says a few simple fixes can help protect your home. It's called home hardening.
KIMIKO BARRETT: We do know that many of the most effective home hardening risk reduction strategies are also the most affordable.
THAKORE: Ann Brennan took some of those steps when she rebuilt her home in Louisville. Some fixes are as simple as adding mesh under her porch, which also had some side benefits.
BRENNAN: The mesh, they work to keep bunnies out from under our deck as well.
THAKORE: Mesh screening keeps embers away from your home. That's an important fix because embers are the main reason homes burn down. They can soar miles ahead of flames and enter your home through attic or basement vents. Small mesh screens or getting wildfire-resistant vents are some of the cheapest ways to help protect your home. Then there's fix No. 2 - defend the five feet closest to your home by removing anything flammable, like trees or wood mulch. Brennan's yard is way more bare than it used to be.
BRENNAN: This is a very rocky landscape compared to what we had before. But it, you know, it grows on you.
THAKORE: And fix No. 3 - use less flammable materials. Wood porches and plastic siding burn. Brennan swapped them out for a fire-resistant deck, roof, siding and metal gutters. But she didn't want to give up everything. She rebuilt a wood pergola.
BRENNAN: It's really hard to be perfect. We all still have some sort of point of vulnerability, but it's just a bunch of trade-offs.
THAKORE: That's a key point, says Barrett of Headwaters - perfect isn't the goal. Hardening is about reducing risk, not eliminating it. And maybe most important is fix No. 4 - get to know your neighbors because in the suburbs, your house might be only as safe as the homes next to yours. Brennan and Hughes worked closely with their neighbors. Lisa Hughes says now they feel more prepared for anything.
HUGHES: It's more just about being prepared for disaster in general, right? And by you doing it and your neighbors doing it, you're making your community safer.
THAKORE: Rebuilding after the fire, it was hard. They said there was no roadmap. But if there's another disaster, their neighborhood is much safer than before.
For NPR News, I'm Ishan Thakore in Louisville, Colorado.
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