Abstract

Community Wildfire Protection Plans: Modeling LANDFIRE, GIS, and Community Values
Track: EMS/Fire
Author(s): Heather Timmons, Joseph Fluder

Many GIS-based methods have been used when developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) since the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) was signed into Law in 2003. CWPP wildfire risk assessments are flexible and diverse, and are developed by individual communities in a collaborative process involving multiple government agencies, stakeholders, and private landowners. Rather than using only derivations of fuel and topography data, as has been done in prior CWPPs and wildfire risk assessments, SWCA Environmental Consultants has incorporated LANDFIRE data and values at risk defined by individual communities into ArcGIS models. This paper will detail the model inputs, process, and outputs. It will also showcase examples of how communities are using CWPPs and GIS to make risk assessments better reflect the collaborative input intended by the CWPP process.

Heather Timmons
SWCA Environmental Consultants
5647 Jefferson St. NE
Albuquerque , New Mexico 87109
United States
Phone: 505-254-1115
E-mail: htimmons@swca.com

Joseph Fluder
SWCA Environmental Consultants
5647 Jefferson St. NE
Albuquerque , New Mexico 87109
United States
Phone: 505-254-1115
Fax: 505-254-1116
E-mail: jfluder@swca.com