Wildland–Urban Interface Fires and Socioeconomic Conditions: A Case Study of a Northwestern Patagonia City

Abstract

In many regions of the world, fires are primarily of anthropogenic origin. In northwestern Patagonia, the number of fires is not correlated with meteorological variables, but is concentrated in urban areas. This study was conducted in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) area of San Carlos de Bariloche (Patagonia, Argentina), within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. WUI fires are particularly problematic because, besides people and goods, they represent a danger to protected areas. We studied the relationship between fire records and socioeconomic indicators within the WUI of San Carlos de Bariloche. We conducted a Multiple Correspondence Factorial Analysis and an Ascendant Hierarchical Classification of the city neighborhoods. The results show that the neighborhoods in Bariloche can be divided into three classes: High Socioeconomic Fire Risk neighborhoods, including neighborhoods with the highest fire rates, where people have low instruction level, high levels of unsatisfied basic needs and high unemployment levels; Low Socioeconomic Fire Risk neighborhoods, that groups neighborhoods which present the opposite characterization, and Moderate Socioeconomic Fire Risk neighborhoods, which are more heterogeneous. Once neighborhoods were classified, a Socioeconomic Fire Risk map was generated, supplementing the existing WUI Fire Danger map. Our results emphasize the relevance of socioeconomic variables to fire policies.

Habitat distribution modeling reveals vegetation flammability and land use as drivers of wildfire in SW Patagonia

“…Given projected future climate changes, such as the positive trajectory of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and its associated teleconnection to warm and dry climate trends in southern South America (Thompson et al 2011), wildfire activity in western Patagonia is expected to increase during the 21st century (Holz and Veblen 2011b). In addition, current trends in land use, such as the expansion of plantations of fireprone exotic conifers (mainly Pinus contorta and P. ponderosa) (Veblen et al 2011) as well as the mismanagement of fire by farmers and the intentional ignition of wildfires as an expression of social unrest (De Torres Curth et al 2012, Marini 2012) also portend increased fire activity. Because most fires are either purposefully or accidentally ignited by people in western Patagonia (Veblen et al 2011), human presence is crucial in determining fire risk.…”

Pine Plantations and Invasion Alter Fuel Structure and Potential Fire Behavior in a Patagonian Forest-Steppe Ecotone

“…Clearly, increased warming in Patagonia promotes low fuel moisture levels, favoring extreme fire danger conditions, such as the scenario described in this work, which in turn may allow more intense and severe fires. These changes occur in synergy with land use trends, such as the expansion of the wildland-urban interface and the increase in non-native plantations, implying increased anthropogenic ignitions and greater exposure of societies to wildfire hazards [9,57,58]. Adaptation measures such as fuel reduction in both planted and incipiently invaded sites following adequate silvicultural practices may sensitively diminish ecological and socioeconomic vulnerability to these altered fire regimes.…”

Las movilidades poblacionales y su impacto territorial en la estructura espacial de las ciudades turísticas: El caso de San Carlos de Bariloche

“…A diferencia del wildland-urban interface o wui, término utilizado por muchos ambientalistas para referir la incidencia antrópica de un área urbana en el medio físico (Brillinger, Autrey & Cattaneo, 2009;De Torres Curth, Biscayart, Ghermandi & Pfister, 2012;Theobald & Romme, 2007), la naturbanización no puntualiza las consecuencias dañinas e imprevistas que puede tener la acción del hombre en la naturaleza, como, por ejemplo, la ignición forestal. Fundamentalmente, no parte de un problema ambiental para sindicar las causas urbanas, o relativas a la vida urbana, que afectan a un entorno natural que se pretende proteger.…”