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Project ID:

24-2-06-9

Year:

2024

Date Started:

09/01/2024

Date Completed:

Title:

Examining and Enhancing the Factors Supporting Current WUI Risk Approaches at Multiple Scales

Project Proposal Abstract:

1. Problem Statement
There is a significant need for an improved wildland-urban interface (WUI) database that
supports the evaluation and enhancement of WUI risk assessment methods. Primarily,
characterizing WUI risk relies on information from retrospective correlation studies, minimal
model evaluations, and limited assessment of WUI definitions. Also, no wildfire-affected
building footprint database portraying the building type (e.g., home versus shed), damage
status, and other information covering significant spatiotemporal extents exists, resulting in
limited information to characterize WUI risk. Furthermore, correlation studies do not
typically examine defensive actions, the relationship between defensive actions and property
treatments, or segment the destroyed and not destroyed buildings based on exposure
conditions (e.g., proximity to burned features). These studies utilize coarse-resolution
vegetation and topography data (e.g., 30 meters) and information from post-fire assessments
where fire has altered pre-fire conditions, resulting in identification difficulties of consumed
materials. Finally, limited studies assess the response of vegetation within the home ignition
zone and further afield.
2. Objectives
This project aims to develop and deliver a database of wildfire-affected building footprints,
classified by building type, attributed with structure separation distance (SSD), construction
materials, and uncertainty categorized for this data. The database will cover significant
spatiotemporal extents (e.g., 2002 to 2022 in the U.S.) and include unique information from
the National Fire Incident Reporting Systems and other databases. High-resolution (e.g., 1
meter) pre-fire and post-fire-affected vegetation datasets will be derived at select fires. We
will use this data to assess the uncertainty in correlation studies. We will focus on examining
relationships between pre-fire and fire-affected vegetation, relationships between defensive
actions and property treatments (e.g., defensible space), and how conclusions of correlation
studies change when using new data derived through this project. Project data will support
examining current WUI definitions when considering SSD and fine-scale vegetation.
Additionally, we will evaluate WUI fire behavior models. These efforts will facilitate
examining and enhancing current parcel and building-scale risk assessment approaches.
3. Benefits
All WUI stakeholders (e.g., federal, state, and local government; risk assessment industry)
will benefit from a national WUI fire building destruction database with uncertainty
measures. Benefits include new perspectives and data on WUI risk factors, current WUI
definitions, and the usefulness of WUI fire models. Integrating these results will facilitate
examining current WUI risk approaches at an unprecedented level. This work will identify
enhancements to these approaches at the parcel and building scale. We will share results in a
project website, workshop, conference presentations, and publications in the archival
literature. The USDA Forest Service Research Data Archive will host the final databases.

Principal Investigator:

William E. Mell

Agency/Organization:

Forest Service

Branch or Dept:

PNW-Pacific Northwest Research Station

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Agreements Contact	Nick Tarvin	Forest Service	PNW-Pacific Northwest Research Station
Budget Contact	Sally A Jewell	Forest Service	PNW-Pacific Northwest Research Station
Co-Principal Investigator	Derek J. McNamara
Funding Cooperator	Jens T. Stevens	Forest Service	WO-Research & Development