By Cindy Devone-Pacheco
When recalling major fires in U.S. history, some might think of the Big Blow-Up or the Great Chicago Fire, but not many people can recall major fires that, decades ago, threatened and possibly destroyed a suburban subdivision or residential area. That’s because the problem simply didn’t exist decades ago.
Today, the wildland/urban interface (WUI) is exploding in size and population. But because the concept of large conflagrations destroying whole neighborhoods in a matter of hours is fairly new, many departments don’t realize the danger that may be lurking in their own backyard—literally.
As the department head of mitigation and prevention for the Texas Forest Service (TFS), Bruce Woods knows the WUI all too well, which is reflected in his presentation, “Enhancing Community Wildfire Protection Plans Utilizing GIS Assessment Tools,” today at Fire-Rescue International. “We’re basically the state’s fire department responsible for wildland fire,” Woods explains about his position. “We also provide the emergency support function, coordinate state resources and mutual aid, put out wildfires—and hopefully prevent them.”
According to Woods, the fire service is well aware of the WUI situation in the western range states, but in the south and in other parts of the country, departments don’t realize that they too have a WUI situation. “Many communities, particularly in Texas, don’t think they have a WUI problem,” he says, “so the main goal of my class is to make people understand what a community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) is and how you can you enhance them with GIS products.”
But what does a CWPP have to do with the WUI? The push for CWPPs in the WUI stems in part from the Healthy Forests Restoration Act that helps manage federal land. “In California, for example, you could have a fire that starts on [federally owned] forestland, but then moves onto private land,” Woods says. “CWPPs help identify areas where the risk of fire reaching private land is high and then identify what to do about it.”
To more quickly and clearly establish high-risk areas in communities, Woods says geographic information system (GIS) technology is invaluable. “If your community is at risk, you can use GIS products to determine your risk level,” he says. “The GIS tool we use for Region 8 looks at fuel types in proximity to communities and determines who’s at risk based on those fuel types.
“We tell people that yes, trees are good, but the wrong types of trees aren’t good,” Woods continues. “They can be invasive, very flammable, non-native, etc. So we can load all this information into the GIS product and then integrate it with the locations of fire starts. We can also add information about response times and what types of resources departments will need to extinguish a particular fire.”
Woods admits he isn’t a technological guru when it comes to GIS, but through his work with the TFS, he’s seen firsthand the increased levels of safety and awareness it can provide. “In the wrong hands, GIS could worry people needlessly,” Woods says, “but it’s going rule the world when it’s all said and done.”
Woods hopes attendees share his appreciation for CWPPs and GIS and their many benefits. He wants them to come away with “a solid understanding of what a CWPP is and how having one in place can improve safety and suppress the possibility of fire starts,” he says. “With a CWPP and GIS technology, fire departments will know, prior to any incident, what to expect.”
Most importantly, Woods wants people to understand the practicality of CWPPs. “CWPPs determine strategies for reducing the risks wildfires pose to communities,” he says. “If you’re a fire chief and there’s a refinery in your response area, you’d be pretty silly to not have a plan for that refinery. So if your community is at risk of experiencing a WUI fire, you should also have a plan.”
Cindy Devone-Pacheco is senior editor for FireRescue magazine.
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