ASSESSING THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE IN CALIFORNIA: DEFINITIONS, TRENDS, AND COMPLEXITIES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: MCINTIRE-STENNIS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0231372
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2012
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2015
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
CAL POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIV
(N/A)
SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA 93407

Performing Department
Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
The proposed research will compare how various legitimate, but differing datasets and mapping techniques impact the designation of wildland-urban interface in a given area, which can impact the effectiveness of local policy makers to regulate forest management, housing development, and construction standards. The researchers will examine two differing types of wildland-urban interface including areas of high-density subdivisions and low-density occluded build-out. In each study site, differing underlying vegetation/housing data will be compared using multiple WUI mapping techniques. Further, trends through time will also be compared using various combinations of underlying data sets and mapping techniques.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
122	7210	3030	100%

Knowledge Area
122 - Management and Control of Forest and Range Fires;

Subject Of Investigation
7210 - Remote sensing equipment and technology;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;

Keywords

wildland-urban interface

fire hazard assessment

fire risk analysis

fire hazard severity zone

wildfire

gis

Goals / Objectives
The specific goal of the proposed research is to quantify and assess differences through time in the amount of area designated as WUI in a local community for varying combinations of GIS analysis methodologies, datasets, and housing density. It is intended that the research will 1.Illustrate changes to hazard based on underlying data, analysis methodology, and assumptions, 2.Elucidate what various WUI maps confer (and don't confer), 3.Highlight that current procedures that create a large spectrum of on-the-ground conditions do not fit well into a singular, monolithic fire management strategy, and 4.Develop clear land-use policy findings that will inform local planning.

Project Methods
Two case study areas will be analyzed, including (a) classic large high-density sub-divisions and (b) low-density occluded build-out. Specific study sites have been located in Los Angeles County per Cal Fire collaborators. Study sites were based upon a priori knowledge of community criteria, and availability of needed fine-scale GIS data. To illustrate changes due to underlying data, WUI designation maps will be created in each of the study sites that compare housing density that is based on current census data (2010) vs. Wildland Development Data (WDA) from LANDSCAN (provided through the Westwide Risk Assessment). The WDA data will be vetted by the researchers and collaborators for unintended consequences within cities that may overestimate WUI due to no real fire potential in a given area. Further, varying methodologies developed by the Cal Fire collaborators will be employed for each of the aforementioned underlying data sets. Like the Stewart et al.(2009) analysis, these methodologies vary by focus and intent of the mapping technique. Finally, for each of the combinations of data sets and WUI designation techniques, 20-year trends in WUI designation will be assessed. Cal Fire collaborators will assist in determining old hazard conditions that have gone away in the 20 years due to urban fill/land conversion.

Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience includes wildland fire scientists, managers, and policy makers involved in the wildland-urban interface. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?13-14: Training activities include training 3 undergraduate students and 2 graduate students in remote sensing data processing. Professional development activities include: PI and graduate student attendance at International Association of Fire Chief's Wildland-Urban Interface Conference in Reno, NV, March 17-19, 2014 and the PI and graduate student attendance at the International Association of Wildland Fire's Large Fire Conference in Missoula, MT, May 19-23, 2014. 14-15: Graduate student presented at three venues - CSU Agricultural Research Institute Showcase, Pomona, CA on November 6, 2014; SLO GIS Day, San Luis Obispo, CA on November 19, 2014; and the Northern/Southern California Society of American Foresters 2015, San Luis Obispo, CA on January 23-24, 2015. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations were given at: International Conference on Forest Fire Research. Coimbra, Portugal, November 14-18, 2014. International Association of Fire Chiefs WUI Conference. Reno, NV. March 24-26, 2015. Southern California Association of Foresters & Fire Wardens. Irvine Park, CA. May 7-8, 2015. Association for Fire Ecology Wildland Fire Congress. San Antonio, TX. November 16-20, 2015. International Association of Wildland Fire's Fire Behavior & Fuels Conference, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. April 11-15, 2016. 2016 International Conference on Forest Fires and WUI Fires, Aix en Provence, France. May 25-27, 2016. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All objectives were completed.

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Leyshon. N.C. 2014. Temporal changes to fire risk in disparate wildland urban interface communities. MS Thesis. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Available at .
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Becker, T. 2015. Changes in vegetation in the wildland-urban interface in San Diego County. Senior Project. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. 35pp.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Leyshon, N.C., C.A. Dicus, and D. Sapsis. 2015. Temporal changes to fire risk in dissimilar WUI communities. Pgs. 298-300 In Keane, Robert E.; Jolly, Matt; Parsons, Russell; Riley, Karin. 2015. Proceedings of the large wildland fires conference; May 19-23, 2014; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-73. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 345 p
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dicus, C.A. 2015. Temporal Changes to Wildfire Risk in the Wildland-Urban Interface. Abstract for Operation Tomodachi: US-Japan Research Symposium on Fire/Structure Interactions and Wildland-Urban Interface. Available at < http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1189.pdf>
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Leyshon, N.C., C.A. Dicus, and D. Sapsis. In review. Temporal changes to defensible space compliance in disparate WUI communities in southern California, USA. Fire Technology. Fire Technology.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Leyshon, N.C., C.A. Dicus, and D. Sapsis. In preparation. Changing fire risk in 3 varying WUI communities in southern California. International Journal of Wildland Fire.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience includes wildland fire scientists, managers, and policy makers involved in the wildland-urban interface. Changes/Problems: The risk model being developed is limited to the remote sensing data that is available to us. While roof type, degree of defensible space compliance, proximity of vegetation to structures, and others exist, other data pertinent to susceptibility of home ignition points are unavailable such as window type, vents, etc. While this might preclude use as a tool to give a more confident assessment of specific risk of structural loss, the available data should still allow for a comparative investigation between communities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training activities include training 3 undergraduate students and 2 graduate students in remote sensing data processing. Professional Development activities include: PI and graduate student attendance at International Association of Fire Chief's Wildland-Urban Interface Conference in Reno, NV, March 17-19, 2014 and the PI and graduate student attendance at International Association of Wildland Fire's Large Fire Conference in Missoula, MT, May 19-23, 2014. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Poster presentation at Association of Wildland Fire's Large Fire Conference in Missoula, MT, May 19-23, 2014. Invited to give oral presentation at VII International Conference on Forest Fire Research, Coimbra, Portugal, November 14-21, 2014. Invited to give oral presentation at US/Japan Symposium on Fire-Structure Interaction and Urban and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires, Washington, D.C., March 2015. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Complete data analysis. Graduate student defends graduate thesis. Disseminate results via posters, oral presentations, and written manuscripts

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. All GIS data were collected. Two differing types of remote sensing data analysis are being utilized. Data analysis of expansion of local communities completed. 2. Objective in progress. 3. GIS data and technical support provided by Cal Fire collaborator and by local GIS specialists at University and at San Luis Obispo County Fire/Cal Fire's Fire Prevention Office. Chief and Urban Fire Forester at Rancho Santa Fe Fire District provided on-site support and field tour for the community's use as a study site. 4. Objective in progress.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Submitted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dicus, C., Leyshon, N., and Sapsis, D. Temporal Changes to Fire Risk in Disparate WUI Communities in Southern California, USA. In Advances in Forest Fire Research.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Poster: Temporal Changes to Fire Risk in Disparate WUI Communities

Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience includes wildland fire scientists, managers, and policy makers involved in the wildland-urban interface. Changes/Problems: Following multiple discussions with high-level state managers and scientists, research goals being adjusted to determine if expanding WUI actually creates greater risk to local communities, which may not be the case due to new developments having heightened construction standards that may thereby buffer wildfires into older, more fire-prone developments. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Obtain relevant data. Ground-truth data at study sites. Begin analysis of data. Present preliminary findings at a professional scientific conference.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal: quantify and assess differences through time in the amount of area designated as WUI in a local community for varying combinations of GIS analysis methodologies, datasets, and housing density. Met multiple times with Cal Fire collaborator to refine project goals and obtain pertinent GIS imagery. Worked extensively with local Cal Fire GIS-specialist cooperators to develop data processing and analysis methodologies. Objective in progress. GIS data and technical support was pledged by Cal Fire collaborator and by local GIS specialists. Chief and Urban Fire Forester at Rancho Santa Fe Fire District both pledge support for the community’s use as a study site. No key outcomes to date as we are in beginning processes of 3-year project.

Publications