After years of planning and preparation, City Council unanimously adopted the Wildland-Urban Interface Code last Thursday. In addition to adopting the code, which focuses on regulating building codes to protect structures against wildfires, Council Member Alison Alter made a motion instructing the city manager to outline a separate stakeholder process addressing vegetation management and fuel […]
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Austin firefighters look to California to combat wildfire risk
Outside of California, the Austin metro area is one of the regions in the country most vulnerable to wildfire. According to CoreLogic’s 2019 Wildfire Risk Report, the metropolitan area has the fifth-highest risk in the nation for a major wildfire incident. But that’s not news to city leaders or the Fire Department. Since the Bastrop […]
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Wildfire audit update shows more work ahead
After hearing a new report from the Office of the City Auditor on Austin’s wildfire response efforts, Council Member Alison Alter said while the report lays out appropriate next steps for the city to take, those steps are probably not enough given the serious nature of the risk. Alter is chair of the Council Audit […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Austin ranks in the top five cities in the U.S. for potential wildfire damage
A new report from a California-based market research firm finds that Austin ranks fifth in a list of cities facing the highest reconstruction costs due to potential wildfire damage. Researchers with CoreLogic found that 53,984 Austin residents live within an area designated as having a high-to-extreme wildfire risk, representing the potential for roughly $16 billion […]
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Zoning and Platting Commission weighs in on proposed fire code
As Austin weathers the dog days of summer, wildfire risk is once again a hot topic in the city. A new report this week by the Office of the City Auditor said that the city could be doing a better job of fireproofing areas outside of the urban core, an area that’s roughly two-thirds of […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Council members say audit on Austin’s ‘enormous’ wildfire risk doesn’t go far enough
Austin City Council members say they need a better look at where the city could be falling short in terms of its wildfire preparedness. A report out today from the Office of the City Auditor said the city is doing enough to prepare for wildfires, but that Austin could do a better job of reducing […]