Background:
Wildfires are becoming more common and intense due to climate change, urban growth, and changes in how land is used, posing new risks for communities in areas where wildlands meet towns and cities (the Wildland-Urban Interface, or WUI).

Goal:
The goal of the WildfireSafe project is to help protect homes and communities in these areas by creating practical advice and tools suited to local conditions in Norway and South Africa.

Approach:
This is achieved by conducting controlled experiments to study wildfires, looking closely at past fires to learn what worked and what didn’t, and adapting existing methods—like prescribed burns and WUI fire safety guidelines—to fit each region. Previous studies show the need to manage flammable plants, like invasive trees in South Africa, and restoring traditional practices, such as prescribed burns, in Norway. Lessons learned from past incidents show that proactive land management and considerations in building designs can make a big difference in keeping people and properties safe.

Organization:
This is a collaborative project with joint funding from the Research Council of Norway and the National Research Foundation, South Africa. The project is jointly managed between RISE Fire Research in Norway and Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The project also includes collaboration with research partners from Sol Plaatje University in South Africa and the partners Climate and Environmental Preparedness in Telemark organized under Grenland Fire and Rescue Service IKS in Norway, Bergen Fire Service in Norway, Vulcan Wildfire Management in South Africa and Volunteer Wildfire Services in South Africa.

Project period: 
March 2025 to August 2028.  

Acknowledgements:
This research is supported in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NOSA240308208391), and in part by the Research Council of Norway (project no. 352949). 

Links: 
The project page at The Research Council of Norway: Link 

Contact: 
Project leader in Norway: 
Ragni Fjellgaard Mikalsen, RISE Fire Research, ragni.mikalsen@risefr.no

Project leader in South-Africa: 
Richard Walls, Stellenbosch University,  rwalls@sun.ac.za

The four main topics in focus in the WildfireSafe project