The Wildland/Urban Interface: Cheatgrass, Fire Danger, and Fuel Breaks

The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is where human settlements border or intermingle with undeveloped land, often with multiple detrimental consequences. Therefore, mapping the WUI is required in order to identify areas-at-risk. There are two main WUI mapping methods, the point-based approach and the zonal approach. Both differ in data requirements and may produce considerably different maps, yet they were never compared before. My objective was to systematically compare the point-based and the zonal-based WUI maps of California, and to test the efficacy of a new database of building locations in the context of WUI mapping. I assessed the spatial accuracy of the building database, and then compared the spatial patterns of WUI maps by estimating the effect of multiple ancillary variables on the amount of agreement between maps. I found that the building database is highly accurate and is suitable for WUI mapping. The point-based approach estimated a consistently larger WUI area across California compared to the zonal approach. The spatial correspondence between maps was low-to-moderate, and was significantly affected by building numbers and by their spatial arrangement. The discrepancy between WUI maps suggests that they are not directly comparable within and across landscapes, and that each WUI map should serve a distinct practical purpose.

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The simulation of wildland-urban interface fire evacuation: The WUI-NITY platform

Safety Science ◽

10.1016/j.ssci.2020.105145 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 136 ◽

pp. 105145

Author(s):

Jonathan Wahlqvist ◽

Enrico Ronchi ◽

Steven M.V. Gwynne ◽

Max Kinateder ◽

Guillermo Rein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wildland Urban Interface ◽

Fire Evacuation

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Goals, obstacles and effective strategies of wildfire mitigation programs in the Wildland–Urban Interface

Forest Policy and Economics ◽

10.1016/j.forpol.2005.03.006 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 818-826 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Margaret A. Reams ◽

Terry K. Haines ◽

Cheryl R. Renner ◽

Michael W. Wascom ◽

Harish Kingre

Keyword(s):

Wildland Urban Interface ◽

Effective Strategies

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Navigating the Wildfire–Pandemic Interface: Public Perceptions of COVID-19 and the 2020 Wildfire Season in Arizona

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire3030041 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 41

Author(s):

Catrin M. Edgeley ◽

Jack T. Burnett

Keyword(s):

Risk Mitigation ◽

Public Perceptions ◽

Fire Season ◽

Future Research ◽

Wildland Urban Interface ◽

Wildfire Management ◽

Wildfire Risk ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Literature Highlight ◽

Wildfire Season

COVID-19 has complicated wildfire management and public safety for the 2020 fire season. It is unclear whether COVID-19 has impacted the ability of residents in the wildland–urban interface to prepare for and evacuate from wildfire, or the extent to which residents feel their household’s safety has been affected. Several areas with high wildfire risk are also experiencing record numbers of COVID-19 cases, including the state of Arizona in the southwestern United States. We conducted a mixed-mode survey of households in close proximity to two recent wildfires in rural Arizona to better understand whether residents living in the wildland–urban interface perceive COVID-19 as a factor in wildfire safety. Preliminary data suggest that the current challenges around collective action to address wildfire risk may be further exacerbated due to COVID-19, and that the current pandemic has potentially widened existing disparities in household capacity to conduct wildfire risk mitigation activities in the wildland–urban interface. Proactive planning for wildfire has also increased perceived ability to practice safe distancing from others during evacuation, highlighting the benefits that household planning for wildfire can have on other concurrent hazards. Parallels in both the wildfire and pandemic literature highlight vast opportunities for future research that can expand upon and advance our findings.

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