Fireproofing Homes Helps Control Wildfire Spread on a Large Scale, Study Says

Fireproofing homes at the edges of wildlands can not only protect the buildings and inhabitants themselves, but can also have a large effect on the advancement of forest-fires, according to a study published online-before-print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study used mathmatical models to examine the impact of the distribution and construction of houses in the wildland-urban interface, or WUI, on the spread of wildfires in forested areas. Previous studies have shown that development in the WUI can impact risk of wildfire, and have described ways in which human activities and land use affect fires; however, this study was the first to specifically examine the impact of house flammability on how far and in what pattern fires spread.

The models indicated that even small changes in flammability of houses in the WUI-where wildlands grade into developed areas and homes are interspersed with wild "fuels" such as trees--can help restrict the severity and spread of forest fires. WUI covers 10% of the area of the continental U.S., and includes 40% of all homes, and . The authors of the paper suggest that although many factors--such as wind, weather, topography, and ecology--can affect the chance of forest fires occuring, home construction and density can potentially be very important determinants of wildfire risk, and should be considered in assessing probability of wildfire occurance. Additionally, they add that their modeling study results suggest that proper regulation of construction in some high-risk WUI areas could significantly reduce the chance of large wildfires.

Guildlines for decreasing the flammability of homes through construction and landscaping are available online at the national Firewise Communities program website, which is part of the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Program. The program makes funding available to communities in order to improve protections against wildfire and to raise awareness of wildfire prevention strategies.

Wildlfires have significant socioeconomic and ecological impact in the United States. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 2005 saw more than 8.6 million acres of land burn, with fire suppression costs of over $875,000,000. Nine-thousand homes were destroyed by wildfires between 1985 and 1994.

The importance to not only U.S. developers and policy makers, but to the global community, of better understanding the factors that affect wildfire spread has recently been highlighted by the spread of devastating wildfires in Greece which have have lead to the deaths of 49 people (Yahoo! News).

References:

Vassilis Spyratos et al., "Development at the wildland-urban interface and the mitigation of forest-fire risk." Abstract and PDF available at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0704488104v1

Petros Giannakouris and John F. L. Ross, "Wind-whipped fires in Greece kill 49." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070825/ap_on_re_eu/greece_fires;_ylt=At8Tdq4ww2SD57R02ItSluSs0NUE

Firewise Communities. http://www.firewise.org/index.php

U.S. Fire Administration, "Wildfire Season 2005 At A Glance." http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/wildfire/index.shtm