Media & expert commentary
Wildfire expert available for interviews and commentary.
Todd Lando, Wildfire Mitigation Expert and Battalion Chief, provides on-air and print commentary on wildfire, mitigation, preparedness, climate, and smoke health impacts. Available 24/7 for interviews, including European broadcast hours. Based in US Pacific time. Remote or in-studio.
Topics
Expert commentary on wildfire, mitigation, and preparedness.
Clear, accurate, broadcast-ready analysis, grounded in more than 35 years in the fire service and current research. Comfortable across audiences and formats, from breaking-news hits to long-form interviews.
Why book Todd Lando
A working chief who explains fire the way audiences understand it.
Not a distant academic and not a talking head: a working battalion chief who has fought the fires he analyzes, helped write the mitigation standards now in force, and explains complex fire science in plain, quotable language. In 2018 he coined "Zone 0," the name for the five feet closest to a structure that has since become the national standard, and he served as executive director of the nation's first two nonprofit fire safe councils, helping develop community wildfire mitigation programs now in use nationally.
"In the last six years, where we've watched these fires happen all over Northern California, we've been lucky. We've been dodging bullets. No reason that those fires didn't happen in Marin other than there wasn't an ignition at exactly the right moment."
On-air to CBS News Bay AreaPress kit
Bios, credit line, and headshot.
Credit as
Todd Lando, Wildfire Mitigation Expert and Battalion Chief.
Short bio (one line)
Todd Lando is a battalion chief and wildfire mitigation specialist with more than 35 years in the fire service who coined "Zone 0," now the national standard for the five feet closest to a structure, and advises the state of California on wildfire mitigation.
Medium bio
Todd Lando is a battalion chief and wildfire mitigation specialist in northern California with more than 35 years in the fire service. In 2018 he coined "Zone 0" to name the five feet closest to a structure; the term has since become the national standard and is now written into California regulation. A recognized voice on wildfire evacuation and resident preparedness, he has led community-scale evacuation studies and developed the guidance and training built from them. He served as executive director of the nation's first two nonprofit fire safe councils, serves on California's Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee, and is an NFPA Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist. He works on wildfire mitigation in the US and Europe.
Long bio
Todd Lando is a battalion chief and wildfire mitigation specialist in northern California, with more than 35 years in the fire service. He has worked both the front lines and the planning side of the fires that reshaped how the fire service treats the wildland-urban interface, including the 1991 Oakland and Berkeley Hills Tunnel Fire, the 2017 North Bay fires, the 2017 Thomas Fire, and the 2018 Camp Fire.
In 2018 he coined "Zone 0" to name the five feet closest to a structure. The science on that area was well established; a usable name for it was not. The term gave researchers, regulators, and homeowners a common vocabulary, fit cleanly into the existing defensible space zone system, and has since become the national standard, now written into California regulation.
A recognized voice on wildfire evacuation and resident preparedness, he has led community-scale evacuation studies and developed the guidance and training built from them. He served as executive director of Fire Safe San Mateo County and Fire Safe Marin, the nation's first two nonprofit fire safe councils, and helped develop several of the community wildfire mitigation programs now in use nationally. He serves on California's Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee, holds the NFPA Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist credential, and is principal of XMR Fire, a wildfire consulting practice serving the western US and Europe. A dual US and Italian (EU) citizen, he is available for work and interviews across North America and Europe.
Headshot: available on request from the media desk.
Formats: live and taped TV, radio, podcast, print, and background briefings. Remote (broadcast-quality setup) or in-studio.
Consulting: for wildfire mitigation consulting engagements, see wildfire prevention services.
Expert consultation: also available for expert witness work and litigation support on structure ignition, mitigation adequacy, and wildfire preparedness. See expert witness services or inquire via the media desk.
Media contact
Booking and press inquiries.
Available 24/7, including European broadcast hours. Fast response for outlets on deadline. For consulting inquiries, use the main contact on the About page.