Assessing the benefits of reducing fire risk in the Wildland-urban interface: a contingent valuation approach

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Fried ◽  
Greg J. Winter ◽  
J. Keith Gilless
Keyword(s):  
Contingent Valuation ◽  
Probability Model ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Property Taxes ◽  
Property Value ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Wildland Urban Interface ◽  
Wild Fire ◽  
Property Loss

Wildland-urban interface (WUI) residents in Michigan were interviewed using a contingent valuation protocol to assess their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for incremental reductions in the risk of losing their homes to wild-fire. WTP was elicited using a probability model which segments the risk of structure loss into “public” and “private” components. Most respondents expressed positive WTP for publicly funded risk reduction activities. These respondents were characterized by tolerance for property taxes, perception of significant risk, high ranking of fire risk relative to other hazards, and high objective estimates of existing risk, and their WTP amounts were positively correlated with income and property value. Given that 97% of the respondents were insured against property loss, the large number of positive WTP responses suggests that substantial non-market and unreimbursed losses are experienced when structures are destroyed by wildfires.

Interpreting federal policy at the local level: the wildland - urban interface concept in wildfire protection planning in the eastern United States

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Grayzeck-Souter ◽  
Kristen C. Nelson ◽  
Rachel F. Brummel ◽  
Pamela Jakes ◽  
Daniel R. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Public Land ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Local Response ◽  
Wildland Urban Interface ◽  
Fuels Reduction ◽  
Eastern Usa ◽  
Healthy Forests Restoration Act

In 2003, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) called for USA communities at risk of wildfire to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) requiring local, state and federal actors to work together to address hazardous fuels reduction and mitigation efforts. CWPPs can provide the opportunity for local government to influence actions on adjacent public land, by establishing local boundaries of the wildland–urban interface (WUI), the area where urban lands meet or intermix with wildlands. The present paper explores local response to the HFRA and CWPPs in the eastern USA, specifically if and how communities are using the policy incentive to identify the WUI. We conducted document reviews of eastern CWPPs, as well as qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with participants in four case studies. We found tremendous variation in local response to HFRA, with plans completed at multiple scales and using different planning templates. The WUI policy incentive was not used in all CWPPs, suggesting that the incentive is not as useful in the eastern USA, where public land is less dominant and the perceived fire risk is lower than in the West. Even so, many communities in the East completed CWPPs to improve their wildfire preparedness.

scholarly journals Fire on the Mountain. Disturbance and Regeneration in Deciduous and Conifer Forests. 20 Years of Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-60
Author(s):  
Erhard Schulz ◽  
Hussein Almohamad ◽  
Attila Bencsik ◽  
Horea Cacovean ◽  
Mathias Hall
Keyword(s):  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Forest Disturbance ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Forest History ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Conifer Forests ◽  
Slash And Burn ◽  
Wild Fire ◽  
Evolution Of Vegetation

"Fire on the Mountain. Disturbance and Regeneration in Deciduous and Conifer Forests. 20 Years of Experience. Two test and monitoring sites in SW Germany (Forchtenberg) and Leghia (NW Romania) furnish insights to the regeneration modes after fire, clearing, burning, and cultivation -slash and burn - in a deciduous forest or after wildfire in a conifer stand. Forest maps and archivalia helped to reconstruct the forest history of the last 250 years of the Forchtenberg site, which as a heritage still influences the present situation. We could document the autonomous co- evolution of vegetation and soil over two decades. It was done by transects and mapping as well as by soil analysis and micromorphology. The role of soil animals for the weathering of charcoals became evident. The evolution of vegetation and soil after a wildfire could be studied on the Leghia site and compared with the Forchtenberg results. As the Leghia site was not cleared after the fire, it enabled us to follow the stages of decay and of regeneration, where conifers do not play a role. Moreover, one could investigate the effects of grass- and pasture fire, still active in the region. It also evidenced the necessary differentiation of charred material into wood- and grass coal. The indicator values of topsoil/soil surfaces are presented as well as those of charred material for the regeneration stages. Finally, we will discuss the fire risk in deciduous forests under a changing climate. Keywords: Forest disturbance, succession types, forest history, slash and burn, wild fire, charcoal taphonomy, fire risk. "

Use of binary logistic regression technique with MODIS data to estimate wild fire risk

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Fan ◽  
Liping Di ◽  
Wenli Yang ◽  
Brian Bonnlander ◽  
Xiaoyan Li
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Regression Technique ◽  
Modis Data ◽  
Wild Fire

scholarly journals Future Property Risk Estimation For Wildfire In Louisiana, USA

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubayet Bin Mostafiz ◽  
Carol J. Friedland ◽  
Robert V. Rohli ◽  
Nazla Bushra
Keyword(s):  
Risk Estimation ◽  
Property Value ◽  
Individual Property ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
East Central ◽  
Damage Probability ◽  
Property Owners ◽  
Block Level ◽  
Property Loss ◽  
Wet Climate

Abstract Background: Wildfire is an important but understudied natural hazard. As with other natural hazards, wildfire research is all too often conducted at too broad a spatial scale to identify local or regional patterns. This study addresses these gaps by examining the current and future wildfire property risk at the census-block level in Louisiana, a U.S. state with relatively dense population and substantial vulnerability to loss from this hazard, despite its wet climate. Here wildfire risk is defined as the product of exposure and vulnerability to the hazard, where exposure is a function of the historical and anticipated future wildfire frequency and extent, and the latter is a function of population, structure and content property value, damage probability, and percent of property damaged. Results: Historical (1992−2015) average annual statewide property loss due to wildfire was $5,556,389 (2010$), with the greatest risk to wildfire in southwestern inland, east-central, extreme northwestern, and coastal southwestern Louisiana. Based on existing climate and environmental model output, this research projects that wildfire will increase by 25 percent by 2050 in Louisiana from current values. When combined with projections of population and property value, it is determined that the geographic distribution of risk by 2050 will remain similar to that today – with highest risk in southwestern inland Louisiana and east-central Louisiana. However, the magnitude of risk will increase across the state, especially in those areas. Projected annual loss will be $11,167,496 by 2050 (2010$) due to population growth, intensification of development at the wildland-urban interface, and climate change. The wildfire-induced property damage is notable because it is projected to increase by 101 percent. These values do not include crop, forestry, or indirect losses (e.g., cost of evacuation and missed time at work), which are likely to be substantial. Conclusions: The results suggest that increased efforts are needed to contain wildfires, to reduce the future risk. Otherwise, wildfire managers, environmental planners, actuaries, community leaders, and individual property owners in Louisiana will need to anticipate and budget for additional efforts to mitigate the economic (and presumably other) impacts associated with a substantial and increasing hazard that often goes underestimated.

scholarly journals Managing the Wildland–Urban Interface in the Northeast: Perceptions of Fire Risk and Hazard Reduction Strategies

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Blanchard ◽  
Robert L. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Pine Barrens ◽  
Wildland Urban Interface ◽  
Hazard Reduction ◽  
Mechanical Removal ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Wildland Fire Risk ◽  
Fire Hazard Reduction

Abstract Much of the recent work in reducing wildland fire danger has occurred in the western and southeastern United States. However, high-risk areas do exist at the wildland–urban interface areas in the Northeast and very little work has been done to understand the fire management issues in this region. Therefore, this study used a survey of residents and landowners within the Plymouth Pine Barrens of southeastern Massachusetts to assess community members' perceptions of wildland fire risk and hazard reduction strategies. The research results indicate that residents have a low perception of wildland fire risk but support the use of fire hazard reduction strategies, including prescribed fire, mechanical removal of trees and brush, and construction of firebreaks. Previous experience with wildland fire was a major factor influencing respondents' perception of fire risk. Furthermore, participants' knowledge about specific fuel treatments positively influenced their support for those treatments. Overall, respondents believe that actions should be taken to reduce fire hazard within the study area and would like to be involved in the development of fire hazard reduction plans.

Show Me the Money

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-215
Author(s):  
Justin Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Property Tax ◽  
Property Values ◽  
Property Taxes ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Property Value ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
The Impact

Many people have written scholarly articles highlighting the pros and cons of SORs. Some have taken the analysis a step further by pointing out the impact SORs have on the values of homes in the vicinity of a registered sex offender (“RSO”). While these studies have pointed out the impact the presence of an RSO can have on the property value for an individual homeowner, research regarding the impact RSOs have on property tax revenue for taxing districts is nonexistent. This Article highlights the correlation between the depressive effect the presence of RSOs has on property values, the impact this reduction in property value has on property tax revenue for taxing districts in Texas, and, as a corollary, the negative impact the decrease in revenue could have on the government’s ability to provide vital public services. The Article concludes by discussing different strategies states like Texas could use to allow taxing districts to recover some of this lost revenue. In particular, this Article suggests that states like Texas could (1) charge RSOs a premium on their property taxes to offset any losses their presence in the community causes; (2) pass laws that prevent RSOs from living in certain areas; (3) adjust the criteria used by taxing districts to appraise residential property; or (4) increase minimum sentences for sex offenders in an effort to reduce the number of registered sex offenders in the community.

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