Fast Fire Network

Why fast fire?

Wildfires are not only getting larger—they are getting faster. Recent research examining more than 60,000 fires across the contiguous United States found that the fastest-growing fires have accelerated dramatically over the past two decades. While these fast-moving fires represent a relatively small fraction of wildfires, they account for a disproportionate share of homes destroyed and total suppression costs.
When fires move quickly, time becomes a critical dimension of risk. Evacuation windows shrink, suppression becomes more difficult, and communities have less time to respond. Yet wildfire science and risk assessments have traditionally focused much more on how large or severe fires become than on how quickly they grow.

What is the Fast Fire Network?

The Fast Fire Network is a five-year, National Science Foundation-funded initiative bringing together researchers, fire and emergency management professionals, planners, community organizations, industry partners, and other stakeholders to better understand and reduce the risks posed by fast-moving wildfires.

Led by Dr. Jennifer Balch, Director of the Environmental Data Science Innovation and Impact Lab (ESIIL) at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Fast Fire Network connects expertise across the natural, social, data, and computer sciences with people working directly on wildfire preparedness, response, and resilience.

Our goal is to move from understanding fast fires to developing actionable solutions that help communities prepare for them.

What will the network do?

The Fast Fire Network is organized around three interconnected dimensions of fast fire risk:

HAZARD: How fast do fires spread, and what drives or inhibits rapid fire growth?
EXPOSURE: Which communities, people, homes, roads, and infrastructure may be exposed when fires move quickly?
VULNERABILITY: What social and structural factors increase the potential for loss during fast-moving wildfires?

Across these themes, the network will:

Develop new metrics and approaches for measuring fast fire hazard and risk.
Integrate diverse datasets and advance AI and data-science tools for fast fire research.
Identify communities and infrastructure potentially exposed to rapidly spreading fires.
Better understand the social and structural factors that contribute to wildfire losses.
Bring researchers and stakeholders together to co-produce practical, science-backed risk-reduction solutions.
Create open data, tools, research products, and resources that can be used by the broader wildfire community.

Join the Fast Fire Network

How can I get involved?

Stay connected to events, research, opportunities, and network updates. Join the email list by clicking the button below.

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Who should join?

Everyone with an interest in fast fire risk is welcome. We especially encourage participation across disciplines, organizations, career stages, and sectors. Whether you study wildfire, respond to it, plan for it, work with affected communities, develop relevant data or technology, or bring another perspective to the challenge, there is a place for you in the Fast Fire Network.

Don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Jennifer Balch (jennifer.balch@colorado.edu), Principal Investigator or Dr. Matt Bitters (matthew.bitters@colorado.edu), Project Manager with questions.