Wildland / urban interface fire risk model
Abstract: Wildland/ Urban Interface (WUI) fires and communities at risk are high
priorities to federal land management agencies. The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Upper Snake River District (USRD) Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) team, in cooperation with Idaho State University’s (ISU) GIS
Training and Research Center (GIS TreC), have created a model to predict
potential fire risk areas around the city of Pocatello, Idaho. The study
area is Pocatello, Idaho city limits with a buffer of approximately 1 mile
surrounding it. To create a wildland/ urban interface fire model the
criteria that were considered are topography and vegetation characteristics,
and suppression access. Data presented in this report contains detailed
conclusions of the effect that each criterion will have on the model, and
the result as a complete model. With the data available we believe that we
have produced a reliable, accurate, yet not overly complicated model of
community areas at risk to wildfire.
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