ABSTRACT
Human habitation has made significant intrusions into forested lands, particularly in the western United States, but in other parts of the world as well. At the interface of the natural and built environments, known as the wild-land-urban interface (WUI), communities and property owners are exposed to the potential ravages of wildland fire. Efforts to manage these threats have led to outreach programs in which communities and home owners can participate to protect themselves and their property from loss. Likewise, in the United States, a national fuel management effort has sought to reduce the burden of volatile fuels on national forests and has as one of its motivations the reduction of fire-related risk in the WUI. Both outreach programs and the national fuel program can be viewed as offering the public options for self-protection, and members of the public living in the WUI engage in self-protection when they abide by the behavioral recommendations of outreach programs and provide support to fuel management efforts.
