Webinar: Managing the Impacts of Wildfire - Aired June 27, 2012

More people are living and building homes at the edge of forested areas while management practices have historically excluded the important natural ecological role of fire, which has resulted in increasingly dense and fire-prone forests. As we have seen time and time again, wildfire can be catastrophic to people and property in the American West.

In this webinar, we address the concept of defensible space around homes and commercial areas and preventative measures to manage growth and wildfire in the wildland-urban interface.

Presentations:

Featured Resource:

"Addressing Community Wildfire Risk: A Review and Assessment of Regulatory and Planning Tools"

Authors: Chris Duerksen, Don Elliott and Paul Anthony, Clarion Associates, Denver, CO

Date: December 2011

The risk of catastrophic fire occurrence in the wildland urban interface (WUI) is a major issue in today's fire protection community. There are many potential tools for zoning administrators, planners, and fire/emergency managers to consider when addressing their community's wildfire risk. These tools include comprehensive planning, land use regulation, building codes and standards, voluntary programs (e.g., Firewise Communities/USA recognition program), Community Wildfire Protection Plans, and hazard mitigation planning.

The focus of this study is to review and assess the effectiveness of regulatory planning tools designed to address community wildfire risk, and to communicate lessons learned to communities considering such regulation. The project deliverables define the WUI regulatory landscape through the identification of regulatory tools, categorization of these tools, and their evaluation to clarify their effectiveness.

Presenters:

• Michele Steinberg, Firewise Communities Program Manager from the National Fire Protection Association
• Jill Alexander, Fire Mitigation Specialist from Douglas County, CO
• Alison Berry, Economics Specialist from the Sonoran Institute

Resources:

• SCOTie Case Study: Douglas County, CO Wildfire Hazard Overlay District and Standards
• Sonoran Institute Report - In the Line of Fire
• National Fire Protection Association

> Return to Webinar main page