Developing effective wildfire risk mitigation plans for the wildland urban interface

摘要: The wildland urban interface (WUI) is a transition zone between mostly undeveloped, vegetated lands and more densely populated areas with buildings and other infrastructure. This interface is of great interest and concern in wildfire prone areas like California, as significant increases in scale, frequency and intensity of fires have resulted in devastating impacts to life-safety, property and other high value assets. Ensuring that people, property and infrastructure are safe is a major priority, but will not happen by chance. Analytical tools, risk reduction strategies and operational plans to enhance wildfire resilience, particularly in the WUI, are vital. Examples of various fire resiliency approaches involve vegetation treatment such as prescribed burns, strategic fuel breaks, fuel thinning, grazing and mastication, while other risk mitigations may include structural hardening, creation of defensible space and other measures. A …