How NIST is Leading the Charge Against Wildfires

Wildfires are an increasingly devastating threat, particularly in communities like Pinewood Lake, where human development meets wildland vegetation. As these fires grow in intensity and frequency, ensuring community safety becomes paramount. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is at the forefront of this challenge, developing crucial guidance, methodologies, and research to protect lives and property. Let's explore some of their vital work.

ESCAPE: Guiding Wildfire Evacuation and Sheltering

One of NIST's most significant contributions is the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Evacuation and Sheltering Considerations: Assessment, Planning, and Execution (ESCAPE) report. Updated in April 2025, this comprehensive guide is a game-changer for communities facing the immediate threat of wildfires. You can read the news release about the update here.

Residents were overtaken by fire during their evacuation of the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California. A small town may only have one or two major outbound roads. Temporary Fire Refuge Areas can increase the likelihood of survival if those roads become impassable. Credit: Cal Fire

The ESCAPE report recognizes that traditional evacuation methods often fall short against fast-moving, "no-notice" wildfires. Drawing on lessons from tragic events like the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, the guide is particularly relevant for the estimated 115 million people in the U.S. living in high-risk areas. Key updates in the 2025 guidance include:

• Temporary Fire Refuge Areas (TFRAs): These pre-designated safe locations offer a vital last resort for those who cannot evacuate in time.

• Emphasis on "No-Notice" Evacuations: The report stresses the importance of pre-planning for sudden, rapidly evolving fire events.

• "Decision Zones": This concept allows for adaptable evacuation strategies as a fire approaches, providing flexibility in dynamic situations.

To ensure broad accessibility and implementation, NIST has developed fact sheets, an interactive online course, and is actively collaborating with state and local governments to integrate ESCAPE recommendations into official wildfire response plans. The escape.nist.gov website here serves as a central hub for these resources, providing training and educational tools for community officials, emergency managers, and first responders to improve their planning and response capabilities.

Hazard Mitigation Methodology (HMM): Hardening Communities from the Ground Up

Beyond evacuation, NIST also focuses on reducing the vulnerability of structures and communities to wildfire. The Hazard Mitigation Methodology (HMM) offers a performance-based approach to mitigate WUI fire hazards. You can find more information about HMM here. Its core goal is to reduce structural losses by hardening structures and parcels across an entire community, rather than just focusing on individual properties.

HMM represents a spatial approach to mitigation, prioritizing efforts to maximize protection and reduce overall costs. This methodology is informed by post-fire data from devastating fires like the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. It aims to provide more comprehensive defense against WUI fires than current building codes alone, which may offer only partial protection. This methodology can be applied to both retrofitting existing communities and guiding new construction in WUI areas.

Understanding Vulnerabilities: WUI Fire Data Collection

To inform these strategies and develop more effective solutions, NIST conducts in-depth research through projects like the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Data Collection on Parcel Vulnerabilities. You can learn more about this project here. This initiative focuses on understanding the intricate interactions between fuel, weather, and terrain that drive WUI fire behavior. Researchers investigate the critical roles of heat flux, embers, and direct flame impingement, providing foundational data to improve building codes, land-use planning, and overall wildfire resilience. The need for this data is underscored by significant WUI events worldwide, such as the 2016 Horse River Fire that led to the evacuation of Fort McMurray, Canada, and the 2023 Lahaina Fire in Hawaii.

A Holistic Approach to Wildfire Safety

Together, these NIST initiatives—from the practical guidance of ESCAPE to the proactive strategies of HMM and the foundational research of WUI data collection—demonstrate a comprehensive and integrated approach to wildfire safety. By providing evidence-based tools, methodologies, and insights, NIST is empowering communities to better prepare for, withstand, and recover from the increasing threat of wildfires, ultimately building a safer future for those living on the wildland-urban frontier.