The West Is Seeing More Wildfires. Here’s How To Combat Them

Large wildfires are becoming more common in Colorado and the West with the region experiencing a more than 250 percent increase in the last 30 years.

A new report says climate change is the reason.

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder say big changes have to occur in the face of this "new normal."

One change? Communities that are at risk of burning should bear more of the costs. But keep in mind, those kinds of places (where the city meets the forest) are booming.

Tania Schoennagel specializes in fire ecology at CU Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, and helped produce the report.

She spoke to CPR's Ryan Warner.

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