Human ignitions on private lands drive USFS cross-boundary wildfire transmission and community impacts in the western US.

ABSTRACT: Wildfires in the western United States (US) are increasingly expensive, destructive, and deadly. Reducing wildfire losses is particularly challenging when fires frequently start on one land tenure and damage natural or developed assets on other ownerships. Managing wildfire risk in multijurisdictional landscapes has recently become a centerpiece of wildfire strategic planning, legislation, and risk research. However, important empirical knowledge gaps remain regarding cross-boundary fire activity in the western US. Here, we use lands administered by the US Forest Service as a study system to assess the causes, ignition locations, structure loss, and social and biophysical factors associated with cross-boundary fire activity over the past three decades. Results show that cross-boundary fire

SUBMITTER: Downing WM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8847424 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature