The western half of the United States (from Texas up to Montana and extending to the coastal states of Oregon, Washington, and California) has been suffering through a series of wildfires. These fires have affected countless residents and wildlife within those states over the past several weeks. The ASLA, led by association president Wendy Miller, issued a statement regarding the fires' status and their impact on the local communities and ecosystems in those areas.

 

Miller described how she felt shock and sorrow toward the devastation of the fires that are continuing to hurt neighborhoods and landscapes. She then extended her sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims of the fires. Miller continued by pointing at climate change as the cause of these occurrences as she explained, "These deadly fires are the unmistakable result of catastrophic climate effects. This ongoing tragedy shows that the climate crisis is not a problem for the future, and we must act now." She followed this idea by calling landscape architects and designers to make changes to combat these issues. She communicated the idea that "landscape architects help communities avoid developing in highly fire-prone natural areas. Landscape architects also plan and design fire-wise communities with defensible spaces that incorporate naturally-resilient native trees and plants."

ASLA also offers a resource center that includes information on wildfire-resilient planning and design. These resources can be accessed here: https://www.asla.org/fire.aspx