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Last month wildfires ripped through densely populated suburbs in Colorado, destroying roughly 1,000 homes in the most destructive fire in the state's history. Notably, the fire spread across grassy plains, not wooded areas we think of as the most fire prone. Now, researchers at Stanford University have found that the fastest population growth in the West's wildland urban interface has occurred in ecosystems most vulnerable to fire.
A new study published in the journal Nature has identified broad swaths of forest and shrublands that face increasing fire risks. Specifically, the study found that climate change is not increasing wildfire threat uniformly. Rather, certain ecosystems contain plants that are more prone to drying out. The combination of tinder-dry plants and a faster-than-average increase in atmospheric dryness creates what the authors call "double-hazard" zones.
Going forward, researchers hope the findings can help local, state, and federal officials reduce wildfire impacts and mitigate the increasing impacts of climate change.
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As a retired oil and gas attorney, who negotiated plenty of leases and sales of leases in Wyoming, it’s clear to me that the 
