The wildland-urban interface in the United States

Abstract

This paper presents a map of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) in 2000 for the lower 48 States of the United States. The WUI was extensive, covering 9 percent of the land area in the lower 48 States and encompassing 38 percent of all homes. Major WUI areas are located along the west coast, the Colorado Front Range, southeast Texas, the Great Lakes States, and across the Southeast; it is common at the fringe of major metropolitan centers and is found in rural areas without major metropolitan centers that are rich in natural amenities. The WUI data and maps can be used in fire planning and management when there is a need to know where housing and wildland vegetation coincide.

Parent Publication

• The public and wildland fire management: social science findings for managers

Citation

Stewart, Susan I.; Radeloff, Volker C.; Hammer, Roger B. 2006. The wildland-urban interface in the United States. In: McCaffrey, S.M., tech. ed. The public and wildland fire management: social science findings for managers. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-1. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 197-202.