The intent of this issue is to:

• Characterize where communities and their associated forestlands are at greatest risk from uncharacteristic wildfires.

Layer Selected: Relative Risk to Communities from Wildland Fire

— [Map PDF] Fire 5 Classes

After significant discussion and review of various datasets, the Idaho SAFR Core Team decided to use the Relative Risk to Communities from Wildland Fire in Idaho model, developed by the Idaho Interagency Wildland Fire Working Group. A complete description of this model is available for download at: http://www.idahofireplan.org/images/Assessment.pdf. The assessment was completed by Jeff Jones, Landscape Ecologist, Flathead National Forest, and others from the State Fire Plan Working Group. This model considers relative wildland fire risk (weather, ignition probability, rate of spread), relative wildland fire hazard (fuel hazard, expected fuel moisture, slope effect on fire spread) and wildland urban interface (inhabited areas, communities at risk). The SAFR Core Development Team felt this model best informed this issue and is supported by the Interagency Fire Plan Working Group.

A number of datasets were initially considered for this issue. These include:

1. Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) County-generated: This dataset includes areas defined at the local level through collaborative efforts. The process through which each county went through in identifying their WUI is not necessarily the same, and this dataset may over or under emphasize areas from county to county depending on their process. While very useful at the local level, the Core Development Team decided not to use this dataset because the process was not consistent across the state and making relative assumptions statewide may provide misleading results.
   
   
2. Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) per the Idaho Interagency Assessment of Wildland Fire Risk to Communities: This dataset identifies wildland urban communities from the Federal Register (66 Fed. Reg. 753, January 4, 2001) and inhabited areas from the 2000 Census. These areas were buffered by a distance of one mile to identify the wildland urban interface areas. This is already included within the model chosen for use.
   
   
3. Fire Regime Condition Classes (FRCC): This dataset shows changes in fuels from historical conditions and helps characterize forestlands at higher risk of uncharacteristic wildland fire. However, its resolution is coarse and it "was developed for the western United States and was not intended to be mapped or summarized at a finer level (e.g., mapped or summarized for a single state), which could provide misleading results." Information on this dataset can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/rmrs_2004_menakis001.pdf.