FireSmart management of flammable wildland-urban interface landscapes

The term wildland-urban interface (WUI) refers to any area where structures are located adjacent to or within flammable forest or wildland fuels. WUI areas are exposed to the danger of wildfire that can result in extreme losses. FireSmart forest management practices can help reduce the risk that wildfire poses on WU1 landscapes. Fire managers and planners must assess the effectiveness of complex sets of activities to influence the impact of fire on the values at risk. Decision Support Systems (DSS) can be used to help develop and evaluate such FireSmart strategies. I designed a WUI Decision Support System with which users can specify fuel treatment activities by using a GIS interface which enables them to delineate where potential fuel treatment activities might take place. The performance of alternative fuel treatments is then evaluated by assessing the potential impact of such changes in fire activity on the landscape.