Idaho Wildland Urban Interface (WUI):

Many homeowners move into and near wildland areas to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of nature.  These areas are often referred to as the wildland urban interface or WUI for short.  Unfortunately, people don’t realize they have moved into a natural environment that thrives on periodic wildfire.   

According to 2007 collected data:

• Of the 11 western states, Idaho has the fifth largest area of undeveloped, forested private land bordering fire-prone public lands.

• Housing in Idaho's wildland urban interface consumes  7.0 acres per person, compared to the 0.5 acres per person average on other western private lands.

• Idaho has 30,026 residences in its wildland urban interface, of which 31 percent are seasonal homes or cabins.

If you have chosen to live in the wildland urban interface, you have assumed the risk and responsibility to protect your family, home, property, and surrounding environment from wildfire. Do not expect firefighters to risk their lives to protect a home where the owner has not taken the risk of wildfire seriously and hasn’t created a fire resistant buffer and provided for safe access to the property.

Click here to view Idaho's Current Fire Danger:  http://www.fs.fed.us/land/wfas/fd_class.gif

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why should I care?

For over a century, people have suppressed natural fires because they “get in the way” of human land-use and aesthetics.  As a result, excess vegetation (fuels) has been accumulating in the WUI creating an environment conducive to destructive fires.  

If your home or property is nestled among trees, junipers, sage, or other dangerous fuels, you are in the path of a potentially destructive fire.  Even homes and properties a mile away from the actual flames can be negatively affected. 

When wildfires threaten homes there is not enough time to move all valuables, livestock, and other belongings to a safer place.  Not to mention, some insurance companies are wising up to the liability of homes in the WUI with little or no protection from wildfire. 

 What Can I Do?                                         

As private landowners living in the WUI, you have a responsibility to reduce hazardous fuels on your property.  Many believe this involves removing all of the trees and other vegetation by stripping property to bare ground.  Although, bare ground may be an effective means of reducing the threat of fire, it is not aesthetically pleasing and can cause severe soil erosion.  Instead, when creating a wildfire defensible space, remove or thin only that vegetative material that can threaten your home, consider fire resistant construction materials, and don’t locate combustibles such as propane tanks and wood piles next to structures. 

By applying “Firewise” principles, you can increase the chances of your home and property surviving a wildfire by 90 to 95%.   Many homeowners have also been shocked to find out their home, surrounded by a sea of black, is being appraised at 10% to 70% less than it was prior to the wildfire.  It should not be surprising that the trees and other natural landscaping that made your property appealing in the first place are worth a great deal when it comes to the home’s value.

The application of “Firewise” principles surrounding your home can reduce the intensity of a wildfire and help keep the value of your home intact.  Many people are surprised to discover that establishing a wildfire protective buffer can result in a beautifully landscaped property that harmonizes with the surrounding environment, improves the overall health of the forest or rangeland, and may even reduce your insurance premiums.

Remember, it is not only your property, home, and personal belongings that are at risk, but also your neighbors’ as well as the natural environment that we all enjoy. 

• For a check list of firewise principles, click here.  WUI Checklist.

What the Government is doing to help?

Federal and state land management agencies have begun to implement projects that help reduce fuel loads on sites surrounding high risk urban areas in order to decrease the loss of lives, property, infrastructure, and natural resources as well as to improve firefighter safety. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on what you can do to protect your home against wildland fires, or to learn more about efforts to reduce fuels in the WUI, please contact your local fire department.