The library
A small, slowly-growing collection of source-cited primers about wildfire and the built environment — what is, where the zone definitions come from, and what the fire-science community has learned about why some houses survive and others do not. Plain English. Free to copy, translate, and republish.
Information only — not fire-safety engineering certification, building code, or insurance advice. For an active fire or evacuation order, follow your local emergency authority.
Primers
Read-through pieces. Each one is roughly 600–900 words, source-cited, focused on a single concept that comes up everywhere in wildfire coverage.
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Defensible space: a 30-foot primer for homeowners
The Cal Fire and “” concept. What the three concentric zones (0–5 ft, 5–30 ft, 30–100 ft) actually mean, why ember exposure dominates the fire-loss data, and how to read a regulator’s defensible-space rules without mistaking a guide for a code. Foundational.
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What this site does not cover, and why
Single-event climate attribution ("this exact fire was caused by climate change"), prescribed-burn-versus-let-burn policy positions, wildfire-arson conspiracy theories, and brand-by-brand extinguisher rankings are not on the map. Here is what the , , and named national fire authorities actually publish.
How to use this library
Everything here is published under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0. You may copy, translate, adapt, and republish any of it — please keep the source citations intact, and please publish your derivative work under the same licence so the next person can keep building.
If you are a teacher, an after-school program, a community group, a parent, a librarian, or a person who works with kids: please take what is useful and pass it on.
If you find an error, an out-of-date source, or a claim that overstates the underlying evidence: how to flag it.