Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Fire Risk and Residential Development: A GIS Analysis

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Jennifer L. Rechel; James B. Davis; Ted K. Bradshaw
    Date: 1992
    Source: In: Chavez, Deborah J., technical coordinator. 1992. Proceedings of the Symposium on Social Aspects and Recreation Research, February 19-22, 1992, Ontario, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-132. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 18-20
    Publication Series: General Technical Report (GTR)
    Station: Pacific Southwest Research Station
    PDF: View PDF  (154 KB)
    Note: This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document

    Description

    Population growth is rapid in rural areas in California. This growth into the wildland-urban interface makes fire protection and suppression more difficult. Fire managers have opportunities to reduce fire danger by improving housing development patterns; however, the overall density and placement of houses is usually set by criteria other than fire danger. By identifying and mapping historical and current housing development patterns, managers can begin to examine difficulties of fire protection, such as road access and crew response time, and to identify fire hazard zones. Proposed development pat-terns can then be examined for potential fire risks, and recommendations made based on these estimated risks. The effects of various factors assumed to correlate with rapid residential construction in Nevada County, California, were described. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methods were used to analyze overall housing location patterns and to determine improved methods to reduce fire risks in the wildland-urban interface. Preliminary results indicate that populations are densest in chaparral vegetation types with very high and moderate fire risk.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to psw_communications@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Rechel, Jennifer L.; Davis, James B.; Bradshaw, Ted K. 1992. Fire Risk and Residential Development: A GIS Analysis. In: Chavez, Deborah J., technical coordinator. 1992. Proceedings of the Symposium on Social Aspects and Recreation Research, February 19-22, 1992, Ontario, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-132. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 18-20

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/28044