John O’Donnell

Key points extracted from the Executive Summary of the US document by FEMA and the US Fire Administration and titled Wildland Urban Interface: A Look at Issues and Resolutions – A Report of Recommendations for Elected Officials, Policymakers and All Levels of Government, Tribal and Response Agencies (June 2022) include:

• “Wildfires are among the worst natural and man-made disasters currently facing our nation. The damage a wildfire causes is multifaceted as it affects multiple areas of civilization and the safety and health of responding firefighters. Today, factors such as climate change and reduced land management practices are significantly contributing to the cause, the increasing frequency and the greater intensity of wildfires, particularly in the [wildland urban interface (WUI)].”
• “… as the United States’ population grows and development of wildland continues, the WUI expands, increasing vulnerability for thousands who choose to live in the space and the firefighters who respond to fight the fires that occur. This unique fire problem has become a high-risk public safety concern for life safety, public and responder health, private property and businesses, the economy, and the ecology in these regions.”
• “Without intervention, adverse consequences of wildfire in the WUI will worsen. Our nation is on the precipice of an all-hands moment in which landowners, citizens, communities, infrastructure organizations, academia, researchers, not-for-profit organizations, governmental agencies and others have critical roles in coordinating a collaborative approach to contain and control the threat of wildfire in the WUI.”
• “It is essential that elected officials and other government leaders allocate resources and support this imperative to address the WUI wildfire problem. FEMA/DHS/USFA developed the “Wildland Urban Interface: A Look at Issues and Resolutions” to stimulate action by raising awareness of the crisis that our nation faces related to wildfire in the WUI and lay out a unified, strategic approach to risk reduction at the national, state, regional and local levels.”
• “In developing this report, a cross-functional group of stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs) from across the nation convened to identify 33 challenges within 13 key WUI issues and develop recommendations to address each challenge. In total, 112 recommendations are presented. These recommendations address challenges in firefighter health and safety, public health and safety, evacuations, forest and rangeland health and resiliency, climate change, community planning and resiliency, infrastructure and utilities, communication strategy and engagement operations, socioeconomic impacts, recovery, emerging technology, data use and modeling, and risk management in wildland fire. The recommendations should be pursued together, forming a system of strategies that require urgent, sustained and actionable implementations. These recommendations are not quick fixes, but solutions for the long term. Leadership on and commitment to the implementation of these recommendations results in a safer America.”

This report is valuable reading for those involved in land and fire management in Australia, outlining the large number of challenges and recommendations.

The positives out of this detailed document and other recent US fire and land management policy developments and commitments for the US are many and include:

1. There is key federal legislation commitment in place for this work reducing fuel, increasing prescribed burning, improving forest health and expanding community mitigation work under the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill and other legislation.
2. There is a firm commitment to this work through Confronting the Wildfire Crisis – A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests and also the earlier National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.
3. There is a good awareness of the forest fuel load issue across forests at very high levels and changes in openness of forests since fire suppression became the focus.
4. There is improved funding to reduce fuel loads, prescribed burning, forest thinning and community protection.
5. Firefighter and public health and safety are critical issues.
6. Infrastructure and utilities protection are important issues.
7. There is active community involvement in fire management and this will increase.  Forest Service partners include Firewise, local fire safe councils, the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, and the Ready, Set, Go! Program.
8. Optimising forest health and resilience is being actually considered and addressed.
9. Thinning is accepted as a sound option to improve forest health.  Open forests from a century ago before fire restriction policies were put in place are important considerations. Indian burning practices are being considered and addressed.

One concern with the approach adopted in the US is the focus on wildfire/ urban interfaces which misses large areas of the forested landscape well outside the urban interface.  This is a critical issue when bushfires occur in untreated areas and move over large distances, as has happened in Australia, including during 2019/ 2020. 

It is suggested that there are many lessons from the US that could be adapted for Australian land and bushfire management.

Related stories: Opportunities for improved fire management in Australia: John O’Donnell; Science says thinned forests are healthy forests: USDA Forest Service.

About John O’Donnell

John is a retired district forester and environmental manager for hydro-electric construction and road construction projects.   His main interests are mild maintenance burning of forests, trying to change the culture of massive fuel loads in our forests setting up large bushfires, establishing healthy and safe landscapes, fire fighter safety, as well as town and city bushfire safety.