Humans need to learn to co-exist with wildfires. Here’s how we can do it.
Fire-adapted development requires a fundamental shift in perspective about wildfires and the threat they pose to residents in WUI areas. Preventive strategies include improved urban planning and land management; collaboration among federal, state and local agencies; and campaigns aimed at educating the public about wildfire preparedness.
Designing better neighborhoods
Cohen is an early pioneer in efforts to minimize fire damage to homes. In 2001 he devised an assessment concept called the home ignition zone (HIZ) that helps homeowners determine how vulnerable their home is to wildfire by looking at factors such as building materials, vegetation and debris within a 200-foot (60-meter) area immediately surrounding the house.
The city of Wenatchee adopted a set of WUI codes in 2011 based on guidelines developed by the International Code Council. “We were pretty well ahead of our time for this part of Washington for doing that,” King says.
But implementing new codes takes years. In 2015, the city suffered its worst wildfire season to date and lost more than 30 homes. “Unfortunately, those WUI codes didn’t exist when those homes were developed. As a result, that disaster was worse than it could have been if those homes had been built today,” King says.
Wenatchee neighborhoods destroyed by wildfire in the past are now being rebuilt with the new building codes in place, bringing hope for better outcomes in the future. “The homes are built differently,” King says. “The landscape is different, and there’s a heightened awareness.”
Collaboration is key
WUI regions can be checkerboards of U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and private lands. The big challenge is getting land use management agencies, fire departments and private landowners to work together to develop and maintain strategies for preventing wildfire damage.
Alison Green, program director of Project Wildfire in Deschutes County, Oregon, says collaboration across all levels of government is a critical piece of wildfire preparedness. Begun in the 1990s, Project Wildfire is a community-led effort that functions as the county’s official wildfire mitigation body. It’s governed by a 27-person steering committee whose members include elected officials, residents, and representatives of the BLM, U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, local fire districts, insurance companies and homeowners’ associations.
By bringing everyone to the same table, Project Wildfire is able to coordinate efforts such as public education campaigns, prescribed burns, community-wide debris cleanups and home risk assessment events.
“We make sure we are helping our partners’ goals move forward, and they are doing the same for us,” Green says. “Half my job is buying coffee for people to make sure that we’re still good when it comes to collaboration. The network is still a healthy, breathing network that can solve complex problems.”
Shifting perspectives on wildfire risk
Another important piece of the wildfire adaption puzzle is getting residents on board with strategies to reduce the threat to their homes. Ultimately, this requires convincing homeowners to take personal responsibility for wildfire preparedness.
Homeowners in WUI zones have much more power over their home’s ability to survive wildfire than previously thought. They can dramatically reduce risk of their house catching fire by doing things like creating and maintaining defensible space and keeping HIZ areas clear of debris.
Communities across the U.S. have taken different approaches to public outreach and WUI code enforcement, says Kimiko Barrett, policy analyst at Headwaters Economics, which co-manages Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) in partnership with the community wildfire planning organization Wildfire Planning International. San Diego, California, for example, is notorious for its code enforcement: The fire department inspects homes located in high-risk areas and fines homeowners not in compliance. “They take a very aggressive approach to structure development and building code standards for high risk areas,” Barrett says.
But enforcement requires resources, so many communities rely instead on education. Initiatives include holding workshops on how to prepare for wildfire season, appointing wildfire ambassadors in at-risk neighborhoods and offering free debris pick-up events.
Even without enforcement, there’s proof that such preventive wildfire adaption approaches are worth the effort. Thanks to remarkable efforts undertaken by elected officials, agency representatives and engaged residents — and all coordinated through Project Wildfire — Deschutes County hasn’t lost a single house to wildfire since 2003.
That’s exactly the type of result WUI communities like Wenatchee are working to achieve today.
“One of the most challenging parts of this is social change, social awareness. What we desire to see is an awareness within the community of personal responsibility to manage their property,” says King. “It’s a culture that’s being developed.”
Kendra R Chamberlain covers topics related to climate change, environmental policy, and the innovation and technologies that are driving the global transition to low carbon economies. This article is published courtesy of Ensia.
