Evaluating the Effectiveness of Wildfire Mitigation Activities in the Wildland-Urban Interface

We assessed wildfire mitigation activities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) of New Mexico to identifywhich strategies are most effective. First, we modeledhow fuel treatments change wildfire behavior in 12 WUI areas.The second element of our analysis used data from over 2,000assessments of home wildfire hazard to better understand howthose hazards are distributed and change over time. We examinedthe Firewise communities in New Mexico because of the importantrole the Firewise program plays in public wildfire educationnationally. The fourth element of our assessment examined nineCommunity Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) case studies, whichintegrate the different elements of wildfire mitigation. The finalsection of this report synthesizes the lessons learned from WUImitigation in New Mexico.