Catastrophic wildfire hazard assessment in pinyon-juniper woodlands utilizing a managerial paradigm

The impetus for this research was the increasing threat of catastrophic wildfires resulting from the accumulation of fuels across the West. Guided by the National Fire Plan (NFP), the objective was to identify those areas within a pinyon juniper woodland dominated landscape with the highest hazard of catastrophic wildfire. The intent was to help managers prioritize proactive fuels management efforts outside of the wildland urban interface (WUI). A GIS hazard assessment of Tintic Valley, Utah was created. Hazard categories were a classification of fuels based on crown cover of pinyon juniper trees, utilizing remotely sensed data. The protocol presented provides a relatively fast, inexpensive, and timely hazard classification technique for pinyon juniper woodlands at a watershed level. It is intended to be used for coarse-scale assessments of fuel hazards for strategic planning purposes. While not appropriate for fire behavior predictions, this assessment can focus managerial efforts for additional tactical planning.