[MCN] Subdivision & climate: People still moving into fire's way

[Lance Olsen]

USDA Office of Communications. Sept. 10, 2015

Release No. 0250.15
Contact:
Office of Communications (202)720-4623

As Wildfires Continue to Burn, New Maps Shows 
Expansion of Wildland-Urban Interface

Growth in development raises costs and danger of fighting wildfires,
highlights need for funding fix
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To download a copy of this publication, visit the 
Northern Research Station's website.
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/48642

"The expanding wildland urban interface is a 
critical issue for wildland firefighting and for 
the conservation of our forests," said Robert 
Bonnie.
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2015 - A new U.S. Forest 
Service report shows the continued expansion of 
housing development near forests, an area 
referred to as the Wildland-Urban Interface 
(WUI), with direct implications for the cost of 
wildfire fighting. Increasing densities of people 
and infrastructure in the WUI makes wildfire 
management more complex and requires more 
firefighting assets to ensure an appropriate, 
safe and effective response, which in turn drives 
up the cost of fighting wildfires. Expansion of 
the WUI has direct implications for wildfire 
management as more of the Forest Service's 
resources are spent each year to provide the 
firefighters, aircraft and other assets necessary 
to protect lives, property and natural resources 
in the wildland urban interface regions. In 
addition, overall fire seasons have grown longer, 
and the frequency, size and severity of wildland 
fires has increased.

In recent decades, research has shown a steady 
increase in the area that is part of the WUI, as 
documented and visually depicted in a new 
publication titled, "The 2010 Wildland-Urban 
Interface of the Conterminous United States." The 
percent of homes in the WUI increased by over 
five percent between 2000 and 2010 (latest data 
available). As of 2010, the WUI of the lower 48 
states includes about 44 million houses, 
equivalent to one in every three houses in the 
country, with the highest concentrations of 
houses in the WUI in California, Texas and 
Florida. The publication includes new, 
high-resolution maps showing housing density, 
land ownership, land cover and wildland 
vegetation cover for each state.

"The expanding wildland urban interface is a 
critical issue for wildland firefighting and for 
the conservation of our forests," said Robert 
Bonnie. "More people, homes, and infrastructure 
are at risk than ever before. As the WUI grows, 
our fire fighters must commit greater resources 
to protect homes and property which dramatically 
increases the cost of fire suppression."

The cost of wildfire suppression reached a record 
$243 in a one week period during the height of 
suppression activity in late August. In 2015, 52% 
of the Forest Service budget was set aside for 
fire suppression, up from 16% in 1995. By 
September 2015, the Forest Service had already 
exceeded the funding set aside for fire 
suppression and was forced to borrow funds meant 
for other Forest Service activities. The 
bipartisan Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, already 
introduced in the House and Senate, is an 
important step forward in addressing the funding 
problems. The proposed legislation, which mirrors 
a similar proposal in President Obama's Fiscal 
Year 2016 Budget, would provide a fiscally 
responsible mechanism to treat wildfires more 
like other natural disasters, end "fire 
transfers" and partially replenish the ability to 
restore resilient forests and protect against 
future fire outbreaks.

While WUI expansion has increased the likelihood 
that wildfire will threaten structures and people 
and increase the number of people affected by 
wildfire, not all WUI acres are at high risk of 
wildfire or the only management concern. 
Increased risk of invasive species and disruption 
of wildlife and ecosystem processes often 
accompany human habitation, making the WUI maps 
an important guide in conservation work.

To download a copy of this publication, visit the 
Northern Research Station's website.

The mission of the Forest Service, part of the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the 
health, diversity, and productivity of the 
Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs 
of present and future generations. The agency 
manages 193 million acres of public land, 
provides assistance to state and private 
landowners, and maintains the largest forestry 
research organization in the world. Public lands 
the Forest Service manages contribute more than 
$13 billion to the economy each year through 
visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 
20 percent of the Nation's clean water supply, a 
value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The 
agency has either a direct or indirect role in 
stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 
million forested acres within the U.S., of which 
100 million acres are urban forests where most 
Americans live.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Behind complexity, there is always simplicity to 
be revealed. Inside simplicity, there is always 
complexity to be discovered."
-Gang Yu
-------------------------------------------------------------
"? energy consumption in 1960 was about half what 
it is now ?. Surely we had a civilized country 
then, with roads, electricity, entertainment, and 
so on. ?. Have we, by doubling our energy 
consumption, doubled our happiness?"
Kimon Valaskakis, Peter S. Sindell, J. Graham 
Smith, and Iris Fitzpatrick-Martin. The Conserver 
Society. 1970. Harper & Row.


-- 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Behind complexity, there is always simplicity to 
be revealed. Inside simplicity, there is always 
complexity to be discovered."
-Gang Yu
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Š energy consumption in 1960 was about half what 
it is now Š. Surely we had a civilized country 
then, with roads, electricity, entertainment, and 
so on. Š. Have we, by doubling our energy 
consumption, doubled our happiness?"

Kimon Valaskakis, Peter S. Sindell, J. Graham 
Smith, and Iris Fitzpatrick-Martin. The Conserver 
Society. 1970. Harper & Row.






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