¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏ

Stanford
Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)

The Economics of Wildfires

Event Details:

Thursday, April 24, 2025
12:00pm - 6:00pm PDT

Location

John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building 366 Galvez Street Stanford, CA 94305 United States

Contact

¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏEvents Team

This event is open to:

General Public

California wildfires are breaking out more often and wreaking more financial damage. Is this the new norm? Are we doing a good job allocating resources for fire prevention, suppression, and harm reduction? How do wildfires impact our health, wealth, and government budgets? Can Californians still insure their most valuable asset – their homes – against fire?

The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) brings together academics, government officials, firefighters, and other experts to explore those questions and discuss strategies for better protecting our families, homes, and communities against the economic threat of wildfires.

Join us on for a half-day conference on wildfire in California. The program begins with lunch, followed by panel discussions, and concludes with a reception.

Schedule

Thursday, April 24, 2025

  • -

    Opening Remarks

    Neale Mahoney, ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏTrione Director, Professor of Economics

  • -

    Session 1: State and Local Budget Allocation on Wildfire Prevention, Suppression, and Harm Reduction

    • Scott Stephens, Professor of Fire Science at University of California, Berkeley
    • Joe Trotter, Director, Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force at American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
    • Stephen Benson, California Department of Finance
    • Matthew Wibbenmeyer, Fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF)

    Moderated by Michael Wara, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

  • -

    Session 2: The Impact of Wildfires on Government Budget, Energy Price, and Property Value

    • Rachel Ehlers, Deputy Legislative Analyst at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office
    • Neysa Fligor, Special Assistant, Santa Clara County Office of the Assessor. Former Mayor of Los Altos.
    • Koko Tomassian, Program Manager of Safety Management Systems Branch, California Public Utilities Commission

    Moderated by Michael Mastrandrea, Research Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

  • -

    Break

  • -

    Session 3: The Impact of Wildfires on Health and Our Daily Life

    • Marshall Burke, Associate Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, at the Woods Institute for the Environment, at ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏand Associate Professor, by courtesy of Earth System Science at Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
    • Chris Dicus, Professor of Wildland Fire & Fuels Management in the Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
  • -

    Session 4: Wildfires, Home Insurance Markets, and Risk Management

    • Daniel Berlant, California State Fire Marshal
    • Steven Greenhut, Resident Senior Fellow and Western Region Director at R Street.
    • Nancy Wallace, Professor and Chair of the Real Estate Group, Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate and Capital Markets, Co-Chair, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at University of California, Berkeley
    • Sarah Russell, Managing Director of Bellwether, Google X

    Moderated by Bruce Cain, Charles Louis Ducommun Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research & Professor of Environmental Social Sciences at Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences

  • -

    Networking Reception

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