Land use planning and wildfire risk mitigation: an analysis of wildfire-burned subdivisions using high-resolution remote sensing imagery and GIS data

Bhandary, Uddhab; Muller, Brian

doi:10.1080/09640560903181147

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…It is also the first to examine the effect of individual fires on the WUI using a large sample. Previous studies of fire risk in the WUI have either examined the effects of a single fire on house loss (Bhandary and Muller, 2009;Brillinger et al, 2009); used measures of fire regime (such as the number of fires over a period (Haight et al, 2004)); simulated fires (Stockmann et al, 2010;Bar Massada et al, 2009) or have abstracted risk to some extent (such as measuring how intense a fire would be if it occurred (Bradstock et al, 1998)). …”

Section: O F Price and R A Bradstock: The Spatial Domain Of Wildfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The probability of loss (consequential risk) is a conditional function of ignition, spread and the vulnerability of urban environments and structures (Bradstock and Gill, 2001). Much of the emphasis on risk research is on the latter (Bhandary and Muller, 2009;Blanchi et al, 2010). The risk consequences of ignition and spread have a strong spatial component that awaits more formal scrutiny (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The spatial domain of wildfire risk and response in the wildland urban interface in Sydney, Australia

Price

Bradstock

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. In order to quantify the risks from fire at the wildland urban interface (WUI), it is important to understand where fires occur and their likelihood of spreading to the WUI. For each of the 999 fires in the Sydney region we calculated the distance between the ignition and the WUI, the fire's weather and wind direction and whether it spread to the WUI. The likelihood of burning the WUI was analysed using binomial regression. Weather and distance interacted such that under mild weather conditions, the model predicted only a 5 % chance that a fire starting > 2.5 km from the interface would reach it, whereas when the conditions are extreme the predicted chance remained above 30 % even at distances > 10 km. Fires were more likely to spread to the WUI if the wind was from the west and in the western side of the region. We examined whether the management responses to wildfires are commensurate with risk by comparing the distribution of distance to the WUI of wildfires with roads and prescribed fires. Prescribed fires and roads were concentrated nearer to the WUI than wildfires as a whole, but further away than wildfires that burnt the WUI under extreme weather conditions (high risk fires). Overall, 79 % of these high risk fires started within 2 km of the WUI, so there is some argument for concentrating more management effort near the WUI. By substituting climate change scenario weather into the statistical model, we predicted a small increase in the risk of fires spreading to the WUI, but the increase will be greater under extreme weather. This approach has a variety of uses, including mapping fire risk and improving the ability to match fire management responses to the threat from each fire. They also provide a baseline from which a cost-benefit analysis of complementary fire management strategies can be conducted.

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Section: O F Price and R A Bradstock: The Spatial Domain Of Wildfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The spatial domain of wildfire risk and response in the wildland urban interface in Sydney, Australia

Price

Bradstock

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…In our study area, these are the same patterns where houses are most likely to be destroyed by fire , Alexandre et al 2016). In particular, structure loss is highest at low to intermediate densities, surrounded by wildland vegetation, and in small, isolated neighborhoods (Syphard et al 2007a,b, 2009, Lampin-Maillet et al 2011. Thus, the scenarios that forced new construction into the coastal areas as higher density infill reduced fire risk not only because houses were not allowed to develop in hazardous areas, but they were also forced to occur in safer arrangements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies are beginning to show that altering the arrangement and location of new housing developments may provide significantly different http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss3/art2/ outcomes in terms of fire risk to homes (Bhandary and Muller 2009, Buxton et al 2011, Syphard et al 2013. In fact, the location and arrangement of homes in some locations may be the most influential factor in determining whether these homes are destroyed in a fire , Alexandre et al 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

Syphard¹,

Butsic²,

Bar‐Massada³

et al. 2016

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Although wildfire plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity in many ecosystems, fire management to protect human assets is often carried out by different agencies than those tasked for conserving biodiversity. In fact, fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation are often viewed as competing objectives. Here we explored the role of management through private land conservation and asked whether we could identify private land acquisition strategies that fulfill the mutual objectives of biodiversity conservation and fire risk reduction, or whether the maximization of one objective comes at a detriment to the other. Using a fixed budget and number of homes slated for development, we simulated 20 years of housing growth under alternative conservation selection strategies, and then projected the mean risk of fires destroying structures and the area and configuration of important habitat types in San Diego County, California, USA. We found clear differences in both fire risk projections and biodiversity impacts based on the way conservation lands are prioritized for selection, but these differences were split between two distinct groupings. If no conservation lands were purchased, or if purchases were prioritized based on cost or likelihood of development, both the projected fire risk and biodiversity impacts were much higher than if conservation lands were purchased in areas with high fire hazard or high species richness. Thus, conserving land focused on either of the two objectives resulted in nearly equivalent mutual benefits for both. These benefits not only resulted from preventing development in sensitive areas, but they were also due to the different housing patterns and arrangements that occurred as development was displaced from those areas. Although biodiversity conflicts may still arise using other fire management strategies, this study shows that mutual objectives can be attained through land-use planning in this region. These results likely generalize to any place where high species richness overlaps with hazardous wildland vegetation.

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“…Past inquiries into the relationship between land use planning and wildfire have typically focused on the performance of past policies [20][21][22] or have simulated the impacts of future development on wildfire risk [9,23]. Far less research has compared the institutions and regulations that are meant to influence land use planning as it relates to wildfire risk [24,25], and the findings from these studies indicate that local actions may be impacted by the structure of governance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance of Land Use Planning to Reduce Fire Risk to Homes Mediterranean France and California

Kocher¹,

Butsic

2017

Land

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Abstract:Wildfire is a natural part of forested Mediterranean systems. As humans continue to live and build housing in these areas, wildfire is a constant threat to homes and lives. The goal of this paper is to describe aspects of land-use planning that are used to reduce wildfire risk in institutionally divergent regions; southern France and California. By reviewing relevant legislation and planning documents and conducting in person interviews with fire and planning professionals, we identify the institutions which participate in land use planning to reduce fire risk and the key laws and regulations that guide planning decisions. Our results indicate that France has a more centralized system for planning for fire, with national level entities heavily involved in local land use planning. California, on the other hand sees almost no federal oversite, and, while state law requires local plans to include wildfire risk, most fine grain decisions are left to local planners and decision makers. In both regions, however, we see a reliance on technical support provided from outside local jurisdictions. Increased coordination between local, regional, and national governments could improve land use planning in both locations.

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Land use planning and wildfire risk mitigation: an analysis of wildfire-burned subdivisions using high-resolution remote sensing imagery and GIS data

Cited by 31 publications

References 18 publications

The spatial domain of wildfire risk and response in the wildland urban interface in Sydney, Australia

The spatial domain of wildfire risk and response in the wildland urban interface in Sydney, Australia

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

Governance of Land Use Planning to Reduce Fire Risk to Homes Mediterranean France and California

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