More than 90% of wildfires are caused by human activity, but other causes include lighting, drought, wind and changing weather conditions, underground coal fires, and even volcanic activity. Wildfire Hazards, Risks, and Disasters, one of nine volumes in the Elsevier Hazards and Disasters series, provides a close and detailed examination of wildfires and measures for more thorough and accurate monitoring, prediction, preparedness, and prevention. It takes a geo-scientific and environmental approach to the topic while also discussing the impacts of human-induced causes such as deforestation, debris burning and arson—underscoring the multi-disciplinary nature of the topic. It presents several international case studies that discuss the historical, social, cultural and ecological aspects of wildfire risk management in countries with a long history of dealing with this hazard (e.g., USA, Australia) and in countries (e.g., Taiwan) where wildfire hazards represent a new and growing threat to the social and ecological landscape. Puts the contributions of environmental scientists, social scientists, climatologists, and geoscientists at your fingertips Arms you with the latest research on causality, social and societal impacts, economic impacts, and the multi-dimensional nature of wildfire mitigation, preparedness, and recovery Features a broad range of tables, figures, diagrams, illustrations, and photographs to aid in the retention of key concepts Discusses steps for prevention and mitigation of wildfires, one of the most expensive and complex geo-hazards in the world.

The continuing encroachment of human settlements into fire-prone areas and extreme fire seasons in recent years make it urgent that we better understand both the physical and human dimensions of managing the risk from wildfire. Wildfire Risk follows from our awareness that increasing public knowledge about wildfire hazard does not necessarily lead to appropriate risk reduction behavior. Drawing heavily upon health and risk communication, and risk modeling, the authors advance our understanding of how individuals and communities respond to wildfire hazard. They present results of original research on the social, economic, and psychological factors in responses to risk, discuss how outreach and education can influence behavior, and consider differences among ethnic/racial groups and between genders with regard to values, views, and attitudes about wildfire risk. They explore the role of public participation in risk assessment and mitigation, as well as in planning for evacuation and recovery after fire. Wildfire Risk concludes with a dedicated section on risk-modeling, with perspectives from decision sciences, geography, operations research, psychology, experimental economics, and other social sciences.

Develop accurate computer models to determine wildfire risks and controlled-burn benefits! Although scientists now recognize that fire is essential to many ecosystems, the ecological and political issues of managing wildfire continue to be vexing. Mapping Wildfire Hazards and Risks offers multiple perspectives on using a Geographic Information System (GIS) for more effective wildfire management. This innovative technology is the ideal tool to organize and display all the information available, so authorities can make informed judgments based on all the facts. Because the authors are not merely theorizing but discussing the GIS they are actually building and using, Mapping Wildfire Hazards and Risks offers practical ideas and perspectives, including: specific information on the modeling approach and kinds of data utilized valuable discussions of the social and environmental factors included in the model techniques for predicting the effects of wildfire on neighborhoods, soil erosion, sedimentation, and air quality predictions of long-term ecosystem recovery given wildfires of different sizes and intensities maps, charts, tables, and formulas to make the process of building a GIS understandable and accessible Mapping Wildfire Hazards and Risks is a compilation of the ideas of federal and state agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations on how to rank and prioritize forested watershed areas that are in need of prescribed fire. This book provides the essential information for deciding how to set priorities for wildfire management that might reduce risks or lower future damages.

The continuing encroachment of human settlements into fire-prone areas and extreme fire seasons in recent years make it urgent that we better understand both the physical and human dimensions of managing the risk from wildfire. Wildfire Risk follows from our awareness that increasing public knowledge about wildfire hazard does not necessarily lead to appropriate risk reduction behavior. Drawing heavily upon health and risk communication, and risk modeling, the authors advance our understanding of how individuals and communities respond to wildfire hazard. They present results of original research on the social, economic, and psychological factors in responses to risk, discuss how outreach and education can influence behavior, and consider differences among ethnic/racial groups and between genders with regard to values, views, and attitudes about wildfire risk. They explore the role of public participation in risk assessment and mitigation, as well as in planning for evacuation and recovery after fire. Wildfire Risk concludes with a dedicated section on risk-modeling, with perspectives from decision sciences, geography, operations research, psychology, experimental economics, and other social sciences.

Reviews have been conducted by Federal oversight agencies and blue ribbon panels to identify causal factors of the unprecedented fire suppression costs and to suggest possible modifications to Federal fire management policy and strategies (USDOI, USDA 2004; USDAOIG 2006; GAO 2007, 2009). Agency and panel member reviews have found that Federal agencies with wildland fire responsibilities are not able to quantify the value of fire management activities in terms of reducing wildfire risk to social, economic, and ecological values. In response, the Wildland Fire Leadership Council's (WFLC) monitoring strategy asked: What are the trends and changes in fire hazard on Federal lands? Fire risk assessment requires an understanding of the likelihood of wildfire by intensity level and the potential beneficial and negative effects to valued resources from fire at different intensity levels. This monitoring study was conducted to meet three broad goals: (1) address the WFLC monitoring question regarding fire hazard on Federal lands; (2) develop information useful in prioritizing where fuels treatments and mitigation measures might be proposed to address significant fire hazard and risk; and (3) respond to critiques by Office of Management and Budget, General Accounting Office, and Congress that call for risk-based performance measures to document the effectiveness of fire management programs. The results of this monitoring study are useful for project planning to quantify the potential effects of proposed actions in terms of reducing risk to specific resources of concern. Developing decision support tools that utilize an appropriate risk management framework would address many of the issues identified within government oversight reports. Specifically, the Office of Inspector General (USDAOIG 2006) reviewed USDA Forest Service (FS) large fire costs and directed that the “FS must determine what types of data it needs to track in order to evaluate its cost effectiveness in relationship to its accomplishments. At a minimum, FS needs to quantify and track the number and type of isolated residences and other privately owned structures affected by the fire, the number and type of natural/cultural resources threatened, and the communities and critical infrastructure placed at risk.” The application of fire risk and fire hazard analyses has been demonstrated at the watershed and National Forest scales (Ager and others 2007). There, specific details regarding probabilities of fire and fire intensity are linked with specific resource benefit and loss functions (Ager and others 2007). Expanding these detailed analyses to regional and national scales to provide consistent risk assessment processes is complicated by the required data specificity and difficulty in developing loss-benefit functions for the range of human and ecological values. The research effort described in this report is designed to develop, from a strategic view, a first approximation of how both fire likelihood and intensity influence risk to social, economic, and ecological values at the national scale. The approach uses a quantitative risk framework that approximates expected losses and benefits from wildfire to highly valued resources (HVR). The information gathered in this study can be summarized in tabular and map formats at many different scales using administrative boundaries or delineations of HVR such as built structure density. The overall purpose of the analysis is to provide a base line of current conditions for monitoring trends in wildfire risk over time. Future analyses would be used to determine trends and changes in response to fuel reduction investments, climate shifts, and natural disturbance events (e.g., bark beetles) between the timeframes analyzed. Monitoring data could be used to address national and regional questions regarding changes in fire risk and hazard as a result of investment strategies or changing conditions.

Extreme Wildfire Events and Disasters: Root Causes and New Management Strategies highlights the urgent need for new methods to prepare and mitigate the effects of these events. Using a multidisciplinary, socio-ecological approach, the book discusses the roots of the problem, presenting a new, innovative approach to wildfire mitigation based on the operational concept of Fire Smart Territory (FST). Under the guidance of its expert editors, the book highlights new ways to prevent and respond to extreme wildfire events and disasters through sustainable development, thus revealing better management methods and increasing protection of both the natural environment and the vulnerable communities within it. Reveals the complexity of extreme wildfire events and disasters in an accessible, comprehensive and multidisciplinary way Reviews the ground-breaking concept of Fire Smart Territory (FST) which offers an opportunity to reduce wildfire occurrence and severity through measures that promote sustainable development Proposes a new perspective on disaster risk reduction to help researchers, planners and professionals successfully adapt their methods for mitigating current and future issues