A review of state and local regulation for wildfire mitigation

Abstract

Wildfire may result from natural processes or as the result of human actions (Ffolliott 1988, Mees 1990). As a natural phenomenon, it is important in sustaining forest health in fire-dependent ecosystems. While some wildfire may be ecologically beneficial, it poses a threat to residential communities located within or adjacent to the forest. Wildfire is considered a hazard when it endangers things that people value, such as life, property and cultural values (Burton et al. 1978). Each year the challenge of protecting Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) communities captures headlines in American newspapers, as wildfire forces the evacuation of homes.

Citation

Haines, Terry K.; Renner, Cheryl R.; Reams, Margaret A. 2008. A review of state and local regulation for wildfire mitigation. The Economics of Forest Disturbances: Wildfires, Storms, and Invasive Species, 273-293