ABSTRACT
The wildland-urban fire interface has three general configurations: classic, intermix, and occluded. Each has its own demographic characteristics and fire management problems. The classic interface is formed where urban sprawl places subdivisions of homes and other structures in direct contact with the wildland. The wildland-urban fire interface problem originally was largely a California phenomenon. The rapid growth of that state's population into wildland areas since the 1950s coupled with its dry climate and flammable fuels created a situation resulting in a steadily increasing wildfire threat to life and property. While a wildland fire tragedy of that magnitude has not been repeated, it does show that wildfire can exact a devastating toll in life and property in and adjacent to forest, grass, and brushlands with fire-prone vegetation. Any complacency that might have existed about the wildland fire threat outside of California was shattered in 1985 when major wildfires destroyed more than 1,400 homes and killed 44 people across the country.
