Collin O'Mara — Latest News

Jeff Kupfer Op-Ed in Napa Valley Register: Wildfire season is here; time to prioritize mitigation and resiliency

Currently, over 4,400 California firefighters have and continue to battle wildfires that have charred more than 4 million acres since the beginning of the year. The fires have claimed at least 31 lives and displaced thousands from their homes.

Unfortunately, these catastrophes are not unusual. In 2018 and 2019, California wildfires claimed more than 100 lives, destroyed nearly 26,000 buildings, and burned more than 2.2 million acres of land. These alarming figures serve as an urgent reminder of the annual threat that wildfires pose to our communities. According to Verisk’s 2020 Wildfire Risk Analysis, nearly 4.5 million homes in the U.S. are at high or extreme risk for wildfires, of which more than two million are in California.

Op-edRobert DillonNovember 13, 2020Jeff Kupfer, Collin O'Mara, wildfires, mitigation

Webinar: The Great American Outdoors Act

On May 21, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would take up the Great American Outdoors Act (S.3422) when it returns in June. This legislation, which has strong bipartisan support of 56 Senators, would provide funding to address deferred maintenance at our National Parks and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Applying the Lessons of Crisis Mitigation from Coronavirus to Natural Disasters

At a time when our nation is in the midst of a global pandemic, Americans can’t afford for another disaster to strike. The effects of natural catastrophes are no secret – we’ve seen the impacts of last year’s California wildfires and the intensifying hurricanes that regularly plague the southeast coasts. What we have yet to experience, however, are how to manage disaster relief efforts look like while simultaneously fighting a global health pandemic.

MEDIA