ABSTRACT
In 2000, federal wildfire policy shifted from a reactive approach dominated by wildfire suppression to a more proactive approach that aimed to reduce the long-term wildfire risk to communities and the environment (USDA and USDI 2000; WGA 2001). Since the 1990s, more people have settled in what is called the wildland urban interface (WUI)—the place where humans and forests meet. This expanding patchwork pattern of residential development has resulted in humans residing closer to the areas where wildfire occurs, so that human communities are a central concern in this new approach to wildfire management.
