Wildfire: How to Mitigate and Stay Insured with Wildfire Insurance Expert / Session #2 – 5/26

Retired former Wildland Firefighter District and current wildfire insurance company consultant, Miranda Stuart, will present property owners with facts and strategies on living in wildfire communities and how to mitigate risk for wildfires. Through her years of direct wildland firefighting experience, she will share best practices for protecting property as well as insights into insurance issues facing property owners in a high wildfire communities.

BIO: Miranda detailed to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as their National Critical Incident Stress Management and Mental Health Coordinator and served as the Wildland Fire Safety Manager before completing her BLM career as Deputy Chief of Fire Operations for Medford. She retired from the Bureau of Land
Management in 2023 and began a career with Capital Insurance Group (CIG) as their Catastrophe Risk
Consultant specializing in wildfire risk assessment and modeling.  Her work in wildfire led her to work with communities to reduce wildfire risk, provide structure protection during wildfires and develop mitigation plans for homes and communities.

Prior Experience: Miranda started her career with the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon in 1995 as a
Wildlife Biologist and an active participant in the fire program; she was with the USFS for five seasons.
She served on the wildlife, timber and fire crews and conducted fire ecology research for one season
on the Siskiyou NF during this period all the while continuing to work closely in fire and develop her
qualifications.

Miranda  accepted a position in 2000 with the Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas as their Fire Effects Monitor. After two years with the National Park Service she moved over to the US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) Texas Mid-coast Refuge Complex to be their Fire Effects Monitor and help develop fire effects monitoring in Region 2 USFWS.  Seven years on the coast with USFWS led her to the position as the Fire Operations Specialist for the Prescribed Fire Training Center (PFTC).  She has an extensive background in prescribed fire and has burned throughout the
Southwest, Southeast and Northwest as well as supported wildland fire operations in those Regions.  Her background in wildlife management, GIS, fire ecology, ecosystem restoration and landscape management has been built from the experiences gained over the years in her career.  2014 the NPS made a transition in staffing and Miranda moved out of PFTC and into her role of Fire Management Specialist supporting Safety, Prevention, Fuels, Medical Standards, Wildfire Reviews, Mental Health, and Training in the National Office for the National Park Service.