Forging Resiliency: Designing for Wildfire Defenses in the Pyrocene Age in Paradise, California

Author

• Rebecca Anne Heide

Files

Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture

College

Arts and Sciences

Department

Landscape Architecture, Disaster Resiliency & Emergency Management (LADREM)

Faculty Advisor

Juncheng Lu

Studio Coordinator

Jay Kost

Faculty Chair

Dominic Fischer

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Rights

NDSU policy 190.6.2

URI

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Abstract

Wildfires are becoming larger, hotter, and more destructive. California has been strongly impacted by large-scale wildfire disasters, with a number of fires in recent history resulting in significant loss of life and infrastructure. The Camp Fire, which destroyed over 85% of the town of Paradise, California in 2018, is one such event. Landscape architecture is a discipline uniquely positioned to address wildfire disaster resilience. This project uses case studies and ArcGIS data to reimagine a 1,600-acre site directly East of the town of Paradise, California. By using a multi-layered wildfire management strategy that uses the principles of resist, co-create, and retreat. The goal of the resulting design is to be used as a template, that can be scaled to create a community-wide defense strategy.

Recommended Citation

Heide, Rebecca Anne, "Forging Resiliency: Designing for Wildfire Defenses in the Pyrocene Age in Paradise, California" (2026). Landscape Architecture Theses. 5.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/landscape-architecture-theses/5