New! WUI Library

Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Engineering Library of Research and Resources

Research on the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) continues to evolve. In the collection of open-access reference and resources below, the SFPE Foundation chooses to focus on research, published articles, and resources that highlight the nexus between the Fire Engineering profession and WUI research, including WUI research funded by the SFPE Foundation through the Grand Challenges Initiative.

Some research papers take a larger view of large outdoor fires, which include not only wildfires or WUI fires, but also includes fires in informal settlements and large urban fires. Therefore, some research on fires in informal settlement, which have overlapping areas of research in structure-to-structure fire spread and human behavior with WUI fires, is also included.

A number of other sources including international, federal, state, and private entities publish WUI research and resources. You can search the U.S. Fire Administration's NETC Library Index or their WUI webpage, U.S. Forest Service's Treesearch, National Institute of Standards and Technology Wildland Urban Interface Fire Group, Wildfire Science & Technology Commons, WUI Data Commons, the International Journal of Wildland Fire, Fire and Materials, Fire, and Fire Technology (which you can access using your SFPE Membership), for additional Wildfire and Wildland-Urban Interface research and articles.

Below, you can view scientific articles, reports, resources, etc. Each item has information such as title, authors, and key takeaways. Click on the arrow to expand the item.

You can filter items by various Keyword searches. You can apply multiple filters. To reset the filters, simply click the "All" buttons. 

This is not intended to be a comprehensive or exhaustive list of all WUI fire engineering research.

The SFPE Foundation plans to add new publications to the list. If you don't see your work listed below, please email Lisa VanBuskirk to have it added. 

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Application of the Framework for Fire Investigations in Informal Settlements to Large-scale Real Fire Events – Consideration of Fire Formation Patterns, Fire Spread Rates and Home Survivability
  • Keyword: Informal Settlement, Fire Spread, Case Study
  • Location: Africa, South Africa
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant
  • Authors: Natalia Flores Quiroz (Recipient of a 2020 SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant), Richard Walls, Antonio Cicione, Mark Smith
  • Published: 2021 in Fire Safety Journal
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2021.103435
  • Key takeaways:
    • The application of the Framework for Fire Investigations in Informal Settlements (FFIIS) allows developing hypotheses that more accurately define the area of fire origin and pattern formation sequence.
    • Fire pattern for large post-flashover fires in Informal Settlements can be treated as wildland fires pattern.
Beyond the Checklist – A Virtual Handbook of Engineering Resources for WUI Property Fire Risk Assessment and Mitigation
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Defensible Space, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Fire Service, Resources
  • Location: North America, United States
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Funded
  • Funding Type: Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Principal Investigator: Jensen Hughes
  • Published: 2022 by the SFPE Foundation
  • Link: WUI Virtual Handbook for Property Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation
  • Key takeaways:
    • This program is made possible with federal funding support from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fire Prevention & Safety Grant Program (FY 2020).
    • The aim of this project was to develop a virtual handbook of engineering-based resource materials to support fire department WUI property fire risk assessments and recommended mitigation strategies for use in the field.
    • Many WUI property fire risk assessments are based on simple checklists that don’t provide fire departments with the flexibility they need to make informed recommendations on assessment and mitigation in the field. Moreover, fire departments around the United States vary greatly in their experience of fire hazards in the WUI.
    • This handbook is intended to supplement existing approaches to property risk assessment by providing guidance and a reference tool that can be a companion to existing approaches used by fire departments and related personnel.
Cross-cultural Comparison of Behavioural Itinerary Actions and Times in Wildfire Evacuations
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation
  • Location: Europe, France, Oceania, Australia
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant
  • Authors: Sandra Vaiciulyte (Recipient of a 2019 SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant), Lynn M. Hulse, Anand Veeraswamy, and Edwin R. Galea
  • Published: 2021 in Safety Science
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2020.105122
  • Key takeaways:
    • This study compares survey data from residents of areas at-risk of wildfires in the South of France and Australia.
    • Results revealed that, across the two regions, the discrete actions in response to a wildfire threat were similar overall, albeit their priority sometimes differed. However, when analysed by category, the prioritisation of actions was uniform across samples.
    • Regional differences were also observed in relation to: mean number of actions, time committed to actions and the influence of socio-demographic factors, indicating geographical and cultural determinants.
Development of Fire Engineering Practitioner Tools
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Structure Fire, Fire Service, Fire Dynamics, Fire Modeling, Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation
  • Location: North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation-funded Research Project
  • Principal Investigator: Fire Research Group, New Zealand
  • Authors: Colleen Wade, Daniel Nilsson, Greg Baker, Per Olsson
  • Published: 2021 by the SFPE Foundation
  • Final Report: Fire Engineering Practitioner Tools: Survey and Analysis of Needs
  • Key takeaways:
    • Conducts a survey of practitioners showing that fire engineering tools were most frequently used for calculations of fire and/or smoke development and egress calculations. These were followed by information management tools, hydraulic flows, detection and suppression design, response to elevated temperatures, and for risk analysis.
    • Identifies 25 gaps based on survey responses and highlights three top priority themes (Data, Integration, New Tools).
Environmental and Health Impacts of Fire and Fire-Suppression Activities During Large-Scale Fire Events
  • Keyword: Fire Service, Case Study, Structure Fires
  • Location: North America, Europe, Oceania
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Funded
  • Principal Investigator: Jamie L. McAllister, Ph.D. (FireTox, LLC, USA)
  • Publications:
    • Article: Q1 2024 in Fire Protection Engineering
    • Report: Environmental and Health Impact of Fire and Fire-Suppression Activities During Large-Scale Fire Events
      • Authors: Jamie L. McAllister, P.E., Ph.D., Brendan McCarrick, P.E., Zelda Q. Zhao, Curtis Fagan
      • Published: 2023 by the SFPE Foundation
      • Key Takeaways:
        • The report seeks to characterize the environmental and health impacts of wildland and structural large-scale fire events. The research project included four tasks: (a) a literature review, (b) an analysis of large-scale fire incident impact monitoring capabilities, (c) an analysis of standards, industry best practices, and tools for impact quantification, and (d) a gap analysis.
        • Based upon findings from Tasks 1 through 3, twelve gaps were identified as it relates to large-scale fire incident knowledge, understanding, resources, and tools. Incident monitoring programs were found to be wildfire centric, despite the environmental and human health impacts that have been shown to result from non-wildland fires, particularly large-scale industrial fires.
    • Webinar: Research in Fire Engineering: Environmental and Health Impacts of Fire and Fire Suppression Activities During Large-Scale Fire Events
      • Presenter: Jamie L. McAllister, P.E., Ph.D.
      • Learning Objectives:
        • Identify large scale fire incidents for which industry has evaluated the health and/or environmental impact of the fire or fire suppression activities.
        • Review and understand the scale of the environmental and health impact of these incidents.
        • Review and understand the factors controlling the scale of impact.
        • Identify systems and software, currently utilized across the world to monitor the impact of large-scale fire events.
        • Identify the standards, industry best practices, and tools used to quantify the impact of large-scale fire events on environmental and human health.
Exploring ‘Wait and See’ Responses in French and Australian WUI Wildfire Emergencies
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation
  • Location: Europe, Oceania, France, Australia
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant
  • Authors: Sandra Vaiciulyte (Recipient of a 2019 SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant), Lynn M. Hulse, Edwin R. Galea, and Anand Veeraswamy
  • Published: 2022 in Safety Science
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105866
  • Key takeaways:
    • This study systematically compared survey responses of residents in French and Australian at-risk regions.
    • The results showed regional differences, with participants in France tending to choose to ‘wait and see’ as a response to fire cues more often than participants in Australia.
    • There was less waiting when participants received environmental as compared to social cues, although the type of environmental/social cue appeared to moderate this behavior.
Fire Incident Analysis of a Large-scale Informal Settlement Fire Based on Video Imagery
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Informal Settlement, Case Study, Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Fire Service, Urban Planning, Structure Fire
  • Location: Africa, South Africa
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant
  • Authors: Natalia Flores Quiroz (Recipient of a 2020 SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant), Richard Walls, Antonio Cicione, Mark Smith
  • Published: 2021 in International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102107
  • Key takeaways:
    • Importance of studying real fire incidents in informal settlements to understand the fire spread, the human behavior, and firefighters’ response and operations with respect to those incidents. 
    • Implications for the development of policy for safety during urban environment large-scale fires, as well as the development of improved interventions, firefighter strategies, community layouts, and response strategies for low-income communities.
How to Build a Firebreak to Stop Smouldering Peat Fire: Insights From a Laboratory-scale Study
  • Keyword: Fire Service, Fire Spread, Wildland Fire Management
  • Location: Not Specified
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant
  • Authors: Shaorun Lin (Recipient of a 2020 SFPE Foundation Student Research Grant), Yanhui Liu, Xinyan Huang
  • Published: 2021 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1071/WF20155
  • Key takeaways:
    • Explores the feasibility of firebreaks to control smouldering peat fires through laboratory-scale experiments with the dry-mass moisture content (MC) of peat soil varying from 10%(air-dried) to 125%.
    • Finds that smouldering peat fire may be successfully extinguished above the mineral soil layer, even if the peat layer is not entirely removed.
    • There are two criteria for an effective peat firebreak: (I) adding water to make the peat layer sufficiently wet (>115% MC in the present work); and (II) ensuring that the peat layer is thinner than the quenching thickness (less than 5 cm). Criterion I may fail if the water table declines or the peat layer is dried by surface fires and hot weather; thus, satisfying Criterion II is more attainable.
    • A sloping trench-shaped firebreak is recommended to guide water flow and help maintain high peat moisture content.
NIST Technical Note 1635 - A Case Study of a Community Affected by the Witch and Guejito Fires
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Defensible Space, NIST Case Study, Case Study, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Wildland Fire Management, Fire Service, Defensible Space
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, William Mell
  • Published: April 2009 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 1635
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Witch fire ignited on October 21, 2007, 27 miles east of The Trails community in Rancho Bernado, San Diego County, California (case study location). The Guejito Fire started approximately 12 hours later on October 22, 2007, 10 miles northeast of The Trails. Though two separate fires, their burn areas overlap. Both fires burned towards The Trails community from the northeast (Gueijito, arrived first) and southeast (Witch, arrived second, 2-3 hours later).
    • The report reconstructed a timeline of when vegetation and structures in the community began burning. Embers from the Guejito fire reached The Trails community approximately 9 km ahead of the main fire front or an hour before the fire arrived (fire front moved at approximately 9 km/h). Embers increased with the arrival of both fire fronts and from structures that subsequently caught fire.
    • Defensive actions taken by homeowners and the fire service were documented in the case study. Of the 245 homes, 16 were damaged (15 of which were defended) and 74 destroyed. Defensive actions were taken for about 1/3 of the total homes in the community.
    • Immediately following the fire, NIST collected data to determine potential structure ignition patterns of the 74 destroyed homes. Three categories of ignition were identified: 1) Vegetation burned uninterrupted to structure (19 homes), 2) Ignition by embers of vegetation (burn patterns not continuous) which could potentially ignite structure, or embers potentially directly ignited structure (35 homes, 1/3 of which were along perimeter of The Trails), 3) Ember ignition only, with limited vegetation ignition (20 homes, 2/5 along perimeter).
    • Given the distance between homes (large lot sizes), direct structure to structure fires was determined not to be significant source of fire spread, though the structure fires likely contributed embers causing others structures to ignite.
NIST Technical Note 1796 - A Case Study of a Community Affected by the Witch and Guejito Fires: Report #2 – Evaluating the Effects of Hazard Mitigation Actions on Structure Ignitions
  • Keyword: NIST Case Study, Case Study, Wildland Fire Management, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Service, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Derek McNamara, William Mell, Jason Trook, Blaza Toman
  • Published: May 2013 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 1796
  • Key takeaways:
    • The report summarizes a post-event assessment of the WUI fire mitigation efforts undertaken by residents and community at large of the WUI interface community the Trails, in Rancho Bernado, San Diego County, California, which was burned by both the Witch and Guejito Fires in October 2007.
    • Through a combination of on-site visits, aerial photography, completion of Firewise Community Checklists for properties, information on defense actions, and other information gathered during the post-event analysis, the report seeks to answer four questions about the community’s potential preparation for a WUI fire. 1) Analyzing if Firewise treatments are applicable within the Trails: The report determined that the Firewise Zone Concept is applicable to the community. 2) Determining if Firewise treatments were present at the Trails prior to the Witch and Guejito Fires: There was no community-driven effort to address fire zones once the community was occupied and vulnerabilities (wildfire history, terrain, prevailing seasonal weather, etc) do not appear to have been considered in design of the community. 3) Evaluating the effectiveness of Firewise treatments in reducing structure ignitions at the Trails individually and in context of exposure from flames and embers: It appears individual properties did apply a number of Firewise treatments and those were effective in reducing fire spread and ignition. 4) Examining the defensive actions in order to determine Firewise treatment effectiveness. Defensive actions were twice as effective in protecting structures in low exposure areas, then defensive actions in high exposure areas of the Trails.
    • The post-event analysis of the Witch and Guejito Fires, resulted in better data collection and assessment in subsequent WUI fires analyzed by NIST.
NIST Technical Note 1708 - Initial Reconnaissance of the 2011 Wildland-Urban Interface Fires in Amarillo, Texas
  • Keyword:Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, Case Study, Structure Fire
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, William Mell, Karen Ridenour, Derek McNamara
  • Published: July 2011 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 1708
  • Key takeaways:
    • Three fires (known as the Willow Creek, Tanglewood, and Country Club fires), occurred on February 27, 2011 around Amarillo, Texas. As a result of established relationships and training on WUI assessments with the Texas Fire Service, NIST deployed a team to study the fires’ behavior and structural losses. The NIST team ultimately focused on the Tanglewood fire for its analysis, and this is the initial report of that analysis and data collection.
    • Two tiers of data collection, WUI 1 and WUI 2 were utilized in Texas. WUI 1 focuses on the entire fire perimeter, while WUI 2 focuses on specific areas of interest at the parcel-level. To obtain parcel-level data on structure and landscape fire impacts, tablets computers were preloaded with aerial imagery and parcel information for use during site visits. Collected data is downloaded and reviewed for quality assurance purposes, and parcel data prepared for the next day. Ultimately, over 29,000 images were taken during the WUI 1 (Willow) and WUI 2 (Tanglewood) analysis.
    • Of the 183 buildings within the Tanglewood fire perimeter, 35 residential structures were destroyed and 13 were damaged, along with many secondary structures, across multiple neighborhoods/communities.
    • The initial data collection efforts occurred over 21 days and while there are specific areas for improvement in data collection quality identified in the report, the WUI1 and WUI2 analysis generally worked as intended, providing the necessary data for a more complete analysis of the fire.
NIST Technical Note 1909 - 2011 Wildland Urban Interface Amarillo Fires Report #2 – Assessment of Fire Behavior and WUI Measurement Science
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, Case Study, Fire Behavior, Fire Spread, Structure Fire, Fire Service
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Derek McNamara
  • Published: February 2016 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 1909
  • Key takeaways:
    • This is the second report on the Tanglewood Fire in February 2011 outside of Amarillo, Texas. The report reconstructs the timeline of fire spread, discusses defensive actions taken, and identifies potential ignitions paths of structures and vegetation at the parcel level, including impact of weather (winds, humidity) and topography (plateaus and canyons) on fire spread.
    • “The Tanglewood Complex post-fire data collection and analysis resulted in a number of technical findings, including seven on structure ignition and hazard mitigation, five on defensive actions, eight on exposure and fire behavior, and fourteen on data collection and analysis methodologies. The five primary findings are listed here:
    • 1) Information collected from detailed post-fire case studies is more useful for assessing hazard mitigation technology failures than for quantifying successes (data collection and analysis methodologies).
    • 2) Damaged structures provided more useful information compared to destroyed structures, as building materials and ignition location were more reliably identified (structure ignition and hazard mitigation).
    • 3) Damaged structures, which were defended, in many cases did not show direct signs of defensive actions. Without the collection of defensive action data, the effectiveness of hazard treatments can be wrongly interpreted (defensive actions).
    • 4) Remote sensing combined with field assessments presents the best means to obtain pre-fire and post-fire vegetation information (data collection and analysis methodologies).
    • 5) Mapping of existing hazards in WUI communities without the use of weighted attributes provides a means for identification of existing hazards (manmade and natural). This will provide potential for removal of hazards by homeowners and land managers, and recognition by first responders during fires (structure ignition and hazard mitigation).”
NIST Technical Note 1910 - A Case Study of a Community Affected by the Waldo Fire – Event Timeline and Defensive Actions
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study, Fire Spread, Fire Service
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Derek McNamara, Robert Vihnanek, Joseph Restaino, Carrie Leland
  • Published: November 2015 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 1910
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Waldo Canyon fire ignited on June 22, 2012, impacting three Colorado Springs, Colorado communities: Mountain Shadows Community (MSC), Cedar Heights and Peregrine. The MSC community is the focus of the report, as all of the structures destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire were in that community.
    • Unlike the Amarillo and Witch/Guejito Fires however, the “WUI 2” analysis of the Waldo Canyon was not the result of field data, collected parcel-by-parcel of impacted structures and vegetation in the affected fire area, as data collection was not initiated until months after the fire. Instead, this analysis focused on interviews with witnesses, fire service personnel and other first responders, radio logs and other event documentation, tracking of firefighter apparatus, and ground/aerial imagery to inform the development of an event timeline, fire spread, and analysis of defensive operations. An extensive and complex effort to coordinate witness statements, images, timestamps, and geolocation was required for this report.
    • “The four primary findings from the Waldo Fire case study are:
    • 1) Defensive actions were effective in suppressing burning structures and containing the Waldo Canyon fire.
    • 2) Pre-fire planning is essential to enabling safe, effective, and rapid deployment of firefighting resources in WUI fires. Effective pre-fire planning requires a better understanding of exposure and vulnerabilities. This is necessary because of the very rapid development of WUI fires.
    • 3) Current concepts of defensible space do not account for hazards of burning primary structures, hazards presented by embers and the hazards outside of the home ignition zone.
    • During and/or shortly after an incident, with limited damage assessment resources available, the collection of structure damage data will enable the identification of structure ignition vulnerabilities.
    • This case study identified a total of 37 technical findings, including 12 associated with field data collection and codes and standards, and 25 associated with fire behavior and defensive actions. As a result, 13 recommendations aimed at improving the fire resilience of WUI communities were developed.”
    • The report was discussed at the 2022 NIST WUI Fire Days
NIST Technical Note 2296 - The NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Case Study Approach and Outlook
  • Keyword: NIST Case Study, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Eric D. Link
  • Published: July 2024 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2296
  • Key takeaways:
    • The evolving process to document and evaluate certain WUI fires as case studies is explained. The Witch/Guejito Fire (2007), Amarillo Fires(2011), Waldo Canyon Fire (2012), and Camp Fire (2018) case studies and subsequent findings and recommendations are summarized.
    • Based on the four case studies conducted thus far by NIST, the report explains case study data collection methodologies and requirements, as well as potential timelines for data collection, analysis, and report publication.
    • The criteria for conducting a case study, include: 1) staff availability (only one case study is conducted at a time), 2) technical interest(s) potentially met by potential case study location, 3) incident scale (large vs small), 4) WUI type (interface vs intermix), and 5) pre-existing relationship with local jurisdictions. The report outlines case study staff requirements, including duties, training, experience, and equipment requirements.
NIST Technical Note 2105 - Camp Fire Preliminary Reconnaissance
  • Keyword: NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, William "Ruddy" Mell, Steven Hawks, Mike Wilson, William Brewer, Eric Link, Christopher Brown, Cartier Murrill, Erin Ashley
  • Published: August 2020 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2105
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Camp Fire ignited on November 8, 2018 in Pulga, California, ultimately spreading for 18 days, damaging or destroying 19,531 structures, causing 85 fatalities, and causing 30,000 residents to evacuate. It was the largest WUI fire in California at the time.
    • A NIST team deployed to Butte County for initial reconnaissance. Based on the relationship with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, data available, the extreme fire behavior, loss of life and structures, notification and evaluation challenges, and two successful reconnaissance field deployments, it was decided that a full case study of the fire would be undertaken.
    • This report is the first in a series of case study reports on the Camp Fire. It outlines the decision process to deploy for an initial field assessment and subsequent decision to do so.
    • The report was discussed at the 2022 and 2023 NIST WUI Fire Days.
NIST Technical Note 2128 - Preliminary Data Collected from the Camp Fire Reconnaissance
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study, Fire Service
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, William "Ruddy" Mell, Steven Hawks, Mike Wilson, William Brewer, Eric Link, Christopher Brown, Cartier Murrill, Erin Ashley
  • Published: December 2020 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2128
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • This is the second case study report on the Camp Fire. It details the types of data collected by field reconnaissance teams during two deployments.
    • The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Damage Inspection Team assessed every structure larger than 11 square meters/120 square feet (totally 23,000 structures) within the fire perimeter. In addition, the NIST team inspected 132 damaged structures to document ignition and fire exposure, and any defensive actions. Over 1,300 images were taken by the NIST team, a few examples of which are provided in the report. In addition, data from Automatic Vehicle Locators of CALFIRE apparatus, operational maps, incident action plans, radio logs, topographic maps, and evacuation zone maps were collected for analysis.
    • The report was discussed at the 2022 NIST WUI Fire Days.
NIST Technical Note 2135 - A Case Study of the Camp Fire – Fire Progression Timeline
  • Keyword:Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study, Fire Spread, Firebrands/Embers, Structure Fire, Fire Service
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Eric Link, William"Ruddy" Mell, Steven Hawks, Mike Wilson, Will Brewer, Chris Brown, Bob Vihnaneck, William D. Walton
  • Published: December 2020 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2135
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • This is the third Camp Fire case study report detailing the timeline of the first 24 hours of the event. The timeline was developed based on 11 field deployments by the case study team to conduct technical discussion interviews with 157 witnesses and first responders. The collection of incident photos, videos, emergency calls, radio logs/transcripts, geographic vehicle locations, timestamps, and more were correlated with interviews, resulting in 2,200 data points. The report collates the various extensive data to create detailed timelines at a number of locations throughout the event.
    • Answers to five research questions are developed in the report:
    • 1) How can a fire event of the scale of the Camp Fire be documented to facilitate the extraction of information for reducing future losses? The first two reports describe the initial reconnaissance. This report (is based on the extensive technical discussions and data collection methodology explained in this report.
    • 2) How did the fire spread to and within Paradise? A timeline of fire movements, as well as integration of maps, images, and geolocation of data are provided in the report.
    • 3) What were the primary causes of the extensive devastation? The report identifies four factors influencing fire losses:
    • A. Fuel ignition potential. Lack of recent precipitation, low moisture content, and fine fuel material accumulation allowed spot fires to start 30-40 minutes ahead of the main fire front.
    • B. Density of vegetative and structural fuels. Magalia and Paradise are high density intermix areas, with small structure separation distance and without a recent history of wildfires leading to high vegetation fuel amounts. Concow is low density intermix community with a history of wildfires such that wildlands have changed from trees to brush and grass, allowing fire to move quickly. Fuel treatments and defensive actions to protect critical infrastructure were successful in all three communities, but are not discussed in this report.
    • C. Wind and terrain. The Sierra foothills and deep canyons create consistent high winds in the area, which influenced fire spread.
    • D. Extent/size of fire front reaching the communities. Each community was confronted by a fire front approximately 1 kilometer long, that grew to nearly 3 kilometers in Paradise. Such a long fire front created dangers to life safety of civilians and first responders, which is discussed in the fourth report.
    • 4) What fire spread pathways caused structural ignitions? Combustible materials on parcels (vegetation, fences, furniture, vehicles) spread the fire to residential structures and then resulted in frequent structure-to-structure fire spread. Additional information on fire spread is discussed in the fifth report.
    • 5) How unique is Paradise as a community at risk of WUI fires? Ultimately, Paradise, Magalia, and Concow are not unique WUI communities. As older intermix communities, the location close to forests is attractive. Multiyear and seasonal droughts impact many WUI communities, not just in the western United States of the Sierra foothills. Nor is the topography of the Sierra Foothills’ peaks, ridges, canyons, and mountain roads which result in down-slope winds, unusual. The Camp Fire was unique because of the severe exposure situation, especially from embers, both from wildland fuels and from the subsequent fires those embers ignited within the community that then subsequently contribute additional ember exposures. Structure-to-structure fire spread from radiation and convection heat flux also occurred.
    • The report was discussed at the 2022 NIST WUI Fire Days.
NIST Technical Note 2135 - Supplement A Case Study of the Camp Fire – Fire Progression Timeline Appendix C. Community WUI Fire Hazard Evaluation Framework
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP), Wildland Evacuation , Urban Planning, Fire Service
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Eric Link, William"Ruddy" Mell, Steven Hawks, Mike Wilson, Will Brewer, Chris Brown, Bob Vihnaneck, William D. Walton
  • Published: November 2021 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2135 Supplement
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • While this is an appendix in the larger Camp Fire Report #3, it is also a standalone document that communities can use for risk analysis.
    • The WUI Fire Hazard Framework creates a methodology for a community to review information on their town and the type of data that can be collected and evaluated.
    • Suggestions of the categories of information to collect and the data potentially available are: Types of Fuels, Population Demographics, Emergency Notification Options, Evacuation Route Capacity and Vulnerabilities, Critical Infrastructure, and Firefighting Response. The report suggests that some of the information could be available to first responders via in-vehicle mobile data systems.
    • The report was discussed at the 2022 NIST WUI Fire Days.
NIST Technical Note 2252 - A Case Study of the Camp Fire Notification, Evacuation, Traffic, and Temporary Refuge Areas (NETTRA) and NIST Technical Note 2252 Supplement to A Case Study of the Camp Fire Notification, Evacuation, Traffic, and Temporary Refuge Areas (NETTRA)
  • Keyword: NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Evacuation, Urban Planning, Fire Service, Traffic
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Eric D. Link, William “Ruddy” Mell, Steven Hawks, Christopher Brown, William D. Walton
  • Published: July 2023 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2252
  • Link: NIST TN 2252 Supplement
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • This is the fourth Camp Fire case study report. Building on the detailed timeline of events of the first 24 hours of the fire detailed in the third report, this report focuses on life safety efforts. Specifically, Notification, Evacuation, Traffic, and Temporary Refuge Areas (NETTRA). Nine research questions were addressed in the report:
    • What were the design parameters of the Paradise Evacuation Plan?
    • What were the roads and access characteristics of Concow, Paradise, and Magalia?
    • How was the notification of civilians in Concow, Paradise, and Magalia achieved?
    • When were evacuation notifications and orders issued, and how does this timing relate to fire progression?
    • How did fire impact evacuations of Concow, Paradise, and Magalia?
    • What were the primary factors that impacted traffic flow during evacuation?
    • How did the use of wildfire safety zones and the creation of TRAs impact civilian life safety, and how many civilians utilized TRAs?
    • When were Temporary Refuge Areas (TRAs) formed and what were the physical characteristics of the TRAs used?
    • What were the attributes of the rescues performed and how many civilians were rescued?
    • The answers to these nine questions are explained in great detail. Some answers overlap and some vary between the three affected communities of Concow, Paradise, and Magalia, based on differences between the communities and their relative location to the fire spread.
    • The report identified 64 technical findings related to notification, evacuation, traffic, temporary refuge areas and rescue. There are 26 mitigation recommendations. The supplementary material contains 12 appendices with supporting data, maps, statistics, maps, tables, and more.
    • The report was discussed at the 2022 and 2023 NIST WUI Fire Days.
NIST Technical Note 2262r1 - WUI Fire Evacuation and Sheltering Considerations Assessment, Planning, and Execution (ESCAPE)
  • Keyword: NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Evacuation, Fire Service, Pedestrians, Traffic, Human Behavior, Evacuation Modeling
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Eric D. Link
  • Published: March 2025 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2262 Revision 1
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Link: ESCAPE Tool
  • Key takeaways:
    • The March 2025 version supersedes the August 2023 published version.
    • Lessons learned from NIST’s detailed analysis of the Camp Fire evacuations identify four themes in WUI fire evacuations:
    • 1) The relationship between the time and location of ignition versus when a fire may potentially impact the community.
    • 2) The potential for fire burnovers to endanger the life safety of evacuating civilians.
    • 3) The usefulness of designating pre-planned temporary refuge areas (TRAs) and temporary fire refuge areas (TFRAs) to limit fire exposures of emergency personnel and evacuating civilians to dangerous conditions. Potentially, TRAs and TFRAs can be used to manage evacuation traffic as well.
    • 4) The benefits of a pre-planning for potential events and conducting evacuation drill scenarios, allow for the testing of innovative traffic management tools and improve communication and coordination with other government agencies and stakeholders.
    • The report acknowledges that full or partial community evacuations are technically complex to execute. The decision to order an evacuation may be no-notice or have a long lead time, which changes how and when to communicate to the community the need to evacuate or potentially shelter in place if an evacuation route is threatened or poses unsafe conditions.
    • The report outlines some considerations for planning and decision making for small and medium-sized WUI intermix communities developing evacuation strategies, based on safety or decisions zones, with example fire scenarios that can be adapted to local conditions (topography, weather, fuels, etc).
    • The report acknowledged the international effort by the SFPE Foundation’s WUI Working Group to identify the skills and engineering tools to improve WUI evacuation planning.
    • The report was discussed at the 2023 NIST WUI FireDays.
    • Based on the report, NIST developed an evacuation planning website to educate and assist communities with evacuation planning: ESCAPE.
NIST Technical Note Note 2205 - WUI Structure/Parcel/Community Fire Hazard Mitigation Methodology
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, NIST Fire Days, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Spread, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, Eric D. Link, Steven Hawks, Jim McDougald, Stephen L. Quarles, Daniel J. Gorham, Shonali Nazare
  • Published: March 2022 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2205
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Link: Hazard Mitigation Methodology Tool
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Hazard Mitigation Methodology (HMM) was developed in collaboration between NIST, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). While intended for evaluation of retrofitting existing structures, the methodology can also be applied to new construction/communities.
    • The HMM is in addition to risk analysis and mitigation for defensible spaces. The HMM has two goals:
    • 1) Reduce structural losses by hardening structures (and parcels) for both ember and fire exposure.
    • 2) Prioritize mitigation efforts to reduce overall mitigation costs.
    • The report focuses on structure separation distance (SSD) for risk analysis and mitigation for fire exposure and fire spread reduction. Hypothetical and real examples of SSD and potential pathways of ignition between adjacent residences and adjacent outbuildings are highlighted. The report reinforces the importance of hardening for ember intrusion irrespective of SSD and parcel fuel load reductions by identifying 40 ember vulnerabilities.
    • Tables, Appendices, and three frequently asked questions make the report useful for many community members. One of the tables compares building structure requirements of the 2018 NFPA 1144, 2018 IWUIC, and 2019 California Building Code, Chapter 7A. The hardening recommendations from the HMM exceed most building and fire code requirements and best practices.
    • The report was discussed at the 2023 NIST WUI Fire Days.
    • From the report, NIST developed an online tool to assist communities with developing a performance based approach to mitigation for communities, structures, and parcels, the Hazard Mitigation Methodology Tool.
SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Structure Fire, Urban Planning, Fire Modeling, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Fire Behavior, Wildland Fire Management, Defensible Space,Structural Hardening
  • Funding Type: Society of Fire Protection Engineers
  • Authors: Blanchi Raphaele, Arena Alessio, Steve Gwynne, Erica D. Kuligowski, Tara K. McGee, Eric Guillaume, Savannah S. Wessies, Ofodike A. Ezekoye, Sayaka Suzuki, Samuel L. Manzello, Chris Lautenberger, Maria Theodori, Delaney Seeburger, William Siembieda, and Molly Mower
  • Published: July 2025 by Society of Fire Protection Engineers
  • Link: SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 6th Edition
  • Key takeaways:
    • In the 6th Edition of the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, discussion of WUI fires expands from a single chapter authored by a single individual in the 5th Edition to seven chapters by fifteen authors (Part 11 of Volume 5). This expansion demonstrates the growth of WUI fire knowledge and the contribution of fire engineers on the topic in the intervening decade between editions.
    • The chapters are:
    • Overview of Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires
    • Evacuation and Emergency Management in WUI Fires
    • Environmental and Health Issues from Wildland Fires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires
    • Exposure Threats to Structures in the WUI
    • Structure Ignition Vulnerabilities in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires
    • Modeling of Wildland Fires and WUI Fires
    • Urban and Land Use Planning
Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling; Structure Fire, Urban Planning, Fire Modeling, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Fire Behavior, Fire Service, Fire Management, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Editor: Samuel L. Manzello
  • Published: 2020
  • Link: Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires
  • Key takeaways:
    • First published in 2018, the encyclopedia was expanded and organized into 27 sections, with multiple articles for each section. The sections are:
    • The chapters are:
    • Economics of Wildland Fire/ WUI Fire Mitigation
    • Environmental Issues
    • Evacuation and Emergency Management in WUI Communities
    • Exposure Threats to Structures in the WUI
    • Fire Characterization Parameters
    • Fire Detection Methods
    • Fire Weather
    • Measurement Techniques
    • Physical Transport Processes in the Wildland/WUI Fire Environment
    • Tools to Estimate Risk in the WUI
    • Tools to Understand Fire Spread Through WUI Communities
    • Wildland and WUI Fire Statistical Data
    • Wildland Fire Behavior
    • Wildland Fire Ecology
    • Wildland Fire Fighting Equipment
    • Wildland Fire Fighting Locations
    • Wildland Fire Fighting Personnel
    • Wildland Fire Fighting Safety
    • Wildland Fire Fighting Tactics
    • Wildland Fire Fuels
    • Wildland Fire Mitigation
    • Wildland Fire Overview
    • Wildland Fire Spread Models
    • Wildland Fire Topography
    • Wildland-Urban Interface Overview
    • WUI Fire Spread Mitigation
    • WUI Structure Ignition Vulnerabilities
Scientific Perspectives On Wildfire Risk Management At The WUI Property Scale
  • Keyword: Wildland Fire Management, Fire Modeling, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Spread, Firebrands/Embers, Urban Planning, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: Europe, North America, Oceania, Australia, United States, Portugal, Spain
  • Editor: Miguel Almeida
  • Published: April 14 2025
  • Link: Scientific Perspectives On Wildfire Risk Management At The WUI Property Scale
  • Key takeaways:
    • In 8 chapters with multiple articles in each chapter, this book focuses on WUI fire engineering topics applicable to individual properties. Topics include vulnerability and risk classification, infrastructure ignition pathways, fuel management, self-protection systems, fire modeling, insurance, and international regulations.
    • The SFPE Foundation’s WUI Working Group is acknowledged.
    • The Chapters are:
    • Introduction to wildland-urban interface fires – relevance of the problem
    • Wildland-urban interface characterization
    • Classification of vulnerability on the property scale
    • Structure ignition mechanism in wildland-urban interface fires
    • Fuels management in the structure surroundings
    • Self-protection systems against wildfires
    • Modeling fire impact at the WUI – property scale
    • Policies, legislation and normatives in the context of WUI (property scale) fire risk
Critical elements in the development and implementation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP)
  • Keyword: Wildland Fire Management, Community Wildfire Protection Plans, Case Study, Resources
  • Location: North America, United States
  • Author: Pamela Jakes, Sam Burns, Antony Cheng, Emily Saeli, Kristen Nelson, Rachel Brummel, Stephanie Grayzeck, Victoria Sturtevant, Daniel Williams
  • Published: 2007 USDA Forest Service Proceedings
  • Link: Critical elements in the development and implementation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP)
  • Key takeaways:
    • Community wildfire protection plans (CWPP) are being developed and implemented in communities across the United States. In a series of 8 case studies, researchers found that the process of developing a CWPP can lead to benefits beyond those associated with fuels reduction, including enhancing social networks, developing learning communities, and building community capacity.
    • The 8 case studies are in California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin, ranging in size and geographic area from neighborhoods, towns, mutli-community region, and county-level. Some smaller CWWPs are nested within larger geographic area’s CWWPs.
Creating a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)
  • Keyword: Wildland Fire Management, Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP), Defensible Space
  • Location: North America, United States
  • Author: Pamela Jakes, Sam Burns, Antony Cheng, Emily Saeli, Kristen Nelson, Rachel Brummel, Stephanie Grayzeck, Victoria Sturtevant, Daniel Williams
  • Published: U.S Fire Administration
  • Link: Community Wildfire Protection Plan (English)
  • Link: Community Wildfire Protection Plan (Spanish)
  • Key takeaways:
    • Communities can use this guide to create a written assessment of identified risks using a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). A CWPP can help communities strategically document local risk and create an action plan and it will help everyone understand how making improvements to their home and the area around their home can create a more favorable outcome for all.
Determination of Critical Separation Distance Between Dwellings in Informal Settlements Fire
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Fire Modeling, Case Study, Structure Fire, Informal Settlements, Firebrands/Embers, Structural Hardening
  • Location: South Africa, Africa
  • Authors: Yu Wang, Lesley Gibson, Mohamed Beshir, David Rush
  • Published: 05 January 2021 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Full-scale and cone calorimeter tests were conducted to estimate fire spread between adjacent structures in an informal settlement. Full scale tests of a single compartment with galvanized steel sheeting were conducted to determine heat flux through window and door openings. The cone calorimeter was used to determine critical heat flux of ignition of the combustible construction materials within a typical informal settlement (wood, plastic, paper, galvanized metal sheeting, etc).
    • Flame spread was assumed to be from structure to structure. Though firebrands are a primary source of flame spread for WUI fires, firebrands were not considered in this study, as the authors concluded there was no evidence of firebrands being a source of fire spread in informal settlements. Wind was not considered in the experimental tests. The experimental tests determined that structure separation distance of 3.14 meters was ideal to minimize fire spread.
    • Using GIS data from four fires in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa, the authors evaluated structure separation distance and fire spread. Based on the authors’ analysis, a separation distance of 2.29 meters provided a 95% probability that the fire would not spread, with 100% probability with a separation distance of 4.56 meters.
    • There was agreement between the test and GIS data for separation distance to prevent fire spread (approximately 3 meters). Similarly, there was agreement that if a structure has a separation distance of 1 meter or less, there was a 97% probability of fire spread to the second structure.
Preliminary Investigation of Critical Separation Distance Between Shacks in Informal Settlements Fire
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Fire Modeling, Case Study, Structure Fire, Informal Settlements, Structural Hardening
  • Location: South Africa, Africa
  • Authors: Yu Wang, Lesley Gibson, Mohamed Beshir, David Rush
  • Published: October 2018 in The Proceedings of 11th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • The critical fire separation distance between hypothetical dwellings in an informal settlement is calculated using fire dynamics and mathematical equations. The radiative heat fluxes from a structure’s window, at different distances, was calculated to quantify the potential ignition and fire spread to combustible materials in adjacent dwellings.
    • It was calculated that the heat flux would decline from approximately 100 kW/m2 within 0.5 meters to less than 0.1 kW/m2 more than 3.5 meters away from the structure. The theoretical calculations are consistent with the minimum effective distance of 3.3 meters determined by reviewing geo-located aerial photography of a burned area of an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa.
    • The authors estimate based on the density of dwellings in the Cape Town informal settlement that if 3.0 meters is a critical separation distance, more than 97% of the settlement is at risk from fire spread, as the separation distance is much smaller.
The Effect of Separation Distance Between Informal Dwellings on Fire Spread Rates Based on Experimental Data and Analytical Equations
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Fire Modeling, Case Study, Structure Fire, Informal Settlements, Structural Hardening
  • Location: South Africa, Africa
  • Authors: Antonio Cicione, Richard Walls, Zara Sander, Natalia Flores, Vignesh Narayanan, Sam Stevens, David Rush
  • Published: 30 July 2020 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • As part of a series of 9 full scale fire experiments conducted in South Africa of informal dwelling fire spread, two experiments focused on structure separation distance and are examined in the article. The spread of fires between adjacent structures due to WUI fire spread is used as background information for research.
    • The first test had a separation distance of 1 meter between adjacent structures, while the second test had a separation distance of 1.75 meters between adjacent structures. The time for fire spread and ignition of the second structure increased as the distance between dwellings increased. Taller dwellings emitted more radiation than shorter structures in the experiment. Radiation emitted by the flame was the dominant source of heat flux for the adjacent structure.
    • The data collected on radiation and time-to-ignition will be used to develop a semi-probabilistic modeling approach for fire spread in informal settlements.
Simulating Evacuation of Humanitarian Settlements
  • Keyword: Evacuation Modeling, Informal Settlements, Human Behavior, Pedestrian, Case Study
  • Location: Bangladesh, Asia
  • Authors: Erica D. Kuligowski, Steve M. V. Gwynne, Hui Xie, Aaron Westbury, Danielle Antonellis, Christine Pongratz
  • Published: 01 July 2023 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Studies of human behavior in WUI fire evacuations offers background for an analysis of evacuation behavior in a case study analysis of an informal settlement in Bangladesh, using Pathfinder evacuation modeling software. The methodology for the complexity of structures, paths, and roads within the case study’s informal settlement, which is not a traditional use of evacuation models, may likewise inform modeling of WUI evacuations. The authors discuss how they adopted the evacuation model to reflect the camp’s geography and topography with the model’s use of rooms, doors, etc to define a space.
    • Seven scenarios were run, with three population densities of 25,000, 35,000, and 45,000 camp residents (scenarios 1-3) and changes in behaviors for a fixed population of 35,000 residents affecting premovement delays, changes in walking speed, and availability/preference of exits (scenarios 4-7).
    • The authors concluded that despite the limitations of evacuation modeling, including technical limitations and assumptions required, the case study demonstrated the potential to use evacuation models outside of the standard use of building evacuation analysis, for informal settlement evacuation.
    • The authors recommend that other evacuation modeling software could be utilized using the methodology presented in the paper.
ISO/TR 24188:2025 Large outdoor fires and the built environment — Global overview of different approaches to standardization
  • Keyword:Building Standards, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Informal Settlement
  • Location: Japan, Asia, France, Europe, United States, North America, Australia, Oceania
  • Authors: International Standards Organization Technical Committee 92
  • Published: 2025 by International Standards Organization
  • Key takeaways:
    • This document updates the edition published in 2022. It provides an overview of approaches to testing methodologies related to large outdoor fire exposure to the built environment. Some of the test methods described were developed in the context of building fires and then extrapolated to external fire exposures, including those from large fires.
    • Large outdoor fires in this context include Wildland Urban Interface fires, as well as those in informal settlements, or resulting from a natural disaster including earthquakes, tsunami, or volcanos.
Progress to Develop Globally Harmonized International Testing Standards for Large Outdoor Fires, Including Wildland-Urban Interface Fires
  • Keyword:Building Standards, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors: Samuel L Manzello
  • Published: 08 December 2024 in Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • ISO TC92/WG14 identified that a firebrand exposure was an important missing component in global large outdoor fire standards and testing methodology. As a result, an ISO standard firebrand generator was developed.
    • Large outdoor fires in this context include Wildland Urban Interface fires, as well as those in informal settlements, or resulting from a natural disaster including earthquakes, tsunami, or volcanos.
    • Future ISO TC92/WG14 work includes the development of a standard for post-fire data collection methods from large outdoor fires and a technical specification for test methods for thermal flux exposure for large outdoor fires.
The verification of wildland–urban interface fire evacuation models
  • Keyword: Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Fire Spread, Pedestrians, Traffic, Human Behavior, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Ronchi, E., Wahlqvist, Jonathan, Ardinge, A., Rohaert, Arthur, Gwynne, Steven M. V., Rein, Guillermo, Mitchell, H, Kalogeropoulos, Nikolaos, Kinateder, Max T., Bénichou, Noureddine, Kuligowski, Erica D., Kimball, Amanda
  • Published: 28 March 2023 in Natural Hazards
  • Key takeaways:
    • Protocols for verification of current and future wildfire evacuation models were developed. In addition to verifying each model is correct, the interactions between different modelling layers and sub-models (wildfire spread, pedestrian movement, traffic evacuation, and trigger buffers) should also be evaluated.
    • Defensive actions taken by homeowners and the fire service were documented in the case study. Of the 245 homes, 16 were damaged (15 of which were defended) and 74 destroyed. Defensive actions were taken for about 1/3 of the total homes in the community.
    • A total of 24 verification tests are recommended, including:
    • (1) 4 tests related to pedestrians
    • (2) 15 tests for traffic evacuation
    • (3) 5 tests concerning the interaction between different modelling layers
    • (4) 5 tests for wildfire spread and trigger buffers
    • A case study of the verification testing protocol is described in the article.
    • This work is intended primarily for fire engineers/managers using wildfire evacuation models rather than transportation engineers/planners.
Modelling wildfire activity in wildland–urban interface (WUI) areas of Sardinia, Italy
  • Keyword: Wildland Fire Management, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Machine Learning Models, Fire Spread, Fire Modeling, Case Study
  • Location: Italy, Europe
  • Authors: Carla Scarpa, Mario Elia, Marina D’Este, Michele Salis, Marcos Rodrigues, Bachisio Arca, Pierpaolo Duce, Maria Antonella, Francesca Fiori, Grazia Pellizzaro
  • Published: 23 December 2024 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • The research team modeled wildfire activity in the WUI of Sardinia, Italy, using machine learning and multivariate regression models. Socio-economic, vegetation, climatic and zootechnical factors were taken into account in the analysis.
    • The best performing machine learning models were then used for analysis and mapping of predicted wildfire ignitions and area burned in the study area of Sardinia.
Setting Wildfire Evacuation Triggers by Coupling Fire and Traffic Simulation Models: A Spatiotemporal GIS Approach
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuations, Pedestrians, Traffic, Evacuation Modeling, Fire Modeling, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Dapeng Li, Thomas J. Cova & Philip E. Dennison
  • Published: 06 September 2018 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • This paper discusses combining fire and traffic simulation models to set evacuation buffer zones, using a three-step process. The first step uses traffic simulation to estimate the total evacuation time. The second step calculates probabilities for evacuation times from multiple simulations and generates probability-based evacuation trigger buffers. In the final step, evaluation of the buffers by combining fire and traffic simulation models, evaluated the fire perimeters and evacuation traffic.
    • A case study of Julian, California tested the methodology, which confirmed that the larger the evacuation buffer zone, the larger the evacuation travel demand and time required to execute the evacuation.
A Provisional Conceptual Model of Human Behavior in Response to Wildland-Urban Interface Fires
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Models
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors: Lauren H. Folk, Erica D. Kuligowski, Steven M. V. Gwynne & John A. Gales
  • Published: 06 March 2019 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Based on a review of evaluation of evacuation literature, including hurricane evacuation, a Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) was created. The PADM draws upon sociodemographic factors, social and environmental cues, preparation and experience, familial responsibilities, location, and credible threat and risk assessment to evaluate the factors that influence a person’s decision to evacuate or not.
Modelling evacuation decision-making in the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 fire in Gatlinburg, TN
  • Keyword: Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Kuligowski ED, Walpole EH, Lovreglio R, McCaffrey S
  • Published: 2 September 2020 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • Surveys (online and via mail) were sent to residents in Gatlinburg, Tennessee impacted by the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 fire. The questionnaire asked about events during and before the event, including awareness of fire risk, experiences with previous evacuations, and warnings or fire cues received during this event. Information from trusted sources and fire cues were the most common influence on evacuation decisions. Risk perception was also important, consistent with the Protective Action Decision Model.
Modeling evacuation decisions in the 2019 Kincade fire in California
  • Keyword: Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Erica D. Kuligowski, Xilei Zhao, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Ningzhe Xu, Kaitai Yang, Aaron Westbury, Daniel Nilsson, Nancy Brown
  • Published: February 2022 in Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • Online surveys were sent to residents of Sonoma County, California following the 2019 Kincade fire to evaluate experiences before and during the event. The results were then compared to a similar survey following a fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
    • While risk perception remained a critical factor for an evacuation decision, the results from the Kincade differed from the results of the Gatlinburg survey. The differences are likely due to different wildfire experiences and fire conditions between the two populations and fires.
    • While nearly all of survey respondents were aware that wildfires were a community threat and three-quarters took some steps to protect their homes or had emergency plans, more than half didn’t think it would affect them and their property personally.
Predicting and Assessing Wildfire Evacuation Decision-Making Using Machine Learning: Findings from the 2019 Kincade Fire
  • Keyword: Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Case Study, Machine Learning Models
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Ningzhe Xu, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Erica D. Kuligowski, Thomas J. Cova, Daniel Nilsson & Xilei Zhao
  • Published: 22 January 2023 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Using information collected via surveys about the 2019 Kincade fire evacuations, multiple machine learning models were tested and compared to the standard logistic regression model. Machine learning models have been used for other evacuation scenarios/studies, but this research is the first for wildfire evacuations.
    • The seven machine learning models included naïve Bayes classifier, K-nearest neighbors, support vector machine, neural network, classification and regression tree (CART), random forest, and extreme gradient boosting. The seven models were compared to the logistic regression analysis from a previous paper about the Kincade fire.
    • The decision-tree based model CART performed the best of the seven models relative to the logistic regression, was the simplest to use, and easiest to interpret the results. Pre-fire safety perception was the most important variable in evacuation decisions, based on the CART analysis.
Review of Research on Human Behavior in Large Outdoor Fires
  • Keyword: Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Case Study
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Negar Elhami-Khorasani, Max Kinateder, Vincent Lemiale, Samuel L. Manzello, Ido Marom, Leorey Marquez, Sayaka Suzuki, Maria Theodori, Yu Wang & Stephen D. Wong
  • Published: 27 March 2023 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • The paper focuses on review of research regarding large-scale evacuation from wildfires/wildland urban interface fires, urban fires, and informal settlement fires. The majority of information on evacuation behaviors comes from the study of WUI fires.
    • Informal settlements present unique evacuation challenges and are not well understood from a research standpoint, often due to the challenges of collecting formal data. Informal settlements are especially vulnerable due to their location (often in the WUI), as well as the proximity and construction of structures facilitating fire spread, as well as limited egress paths, firefighting infrastructure, and preparedness resources.
    • Research on pre-event preparedness, evacuation/shelter-in-place decision factors, behavior during evacuation/shelter-in-place activities, and post-event lessons learned are summarized.
    • Research on evacuation models is discussed. The only model that incorporates traffic, pedestrians, and the spread of wildfire is WUI-NITY. Most evacuation models do not take into account changing conditions, like changes in evacuation routes (due to congestion or closures due to fire) or firefighting operations.
WUIVAC: a wildland-urban interface evacuation trigger model applied in strategic wildfire scenarios
  • Keyword: Case Study, Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Fire Spread
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors:Philip E. Dennison, Thomas J. Cova & Max A. Mortiz
  • Published: 21 November 2006 in Natural Hazards
  • Key takeaways:
    • The WUIVAC model calculates a fire spread rates based on available fuel types, topography, wind speed, wind direction, and moisture, using FlamMap software. The fire spread rate is then compared to Decision Zones and estimated WUI required evacuation times (WRSET).
    • The model can be used to evaluate current conditions and help authorities make evacuation decisions or could be used to develop multiple wildfire scenarios to analyze potential Decision Zones. The model can scale from parcel-level to community-level evacuation decisions.
    • A case study of Julian, California based on topography, weather (including 8 years of wind measurements), and combustible fuels was used to analyze evacuation trigger buffer around the town to initiate evacuation decisions.
    • Three evacuation routes were evaluated with different trigger buffer areas to demonstrate the benefit of evacuation pre-planning.
Determinants of Gaps in Human Behaviour in Fire Research
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Enrico Ronchi, Katelynn Kapalo, Nikolai Bode, Karen Boyce, Arturo Cuesta, Yan Feng, Edwin R. Galea, Paul Geoerg, Steve Gwynne, Eric B. Kennedy, Max Kinateder, Michael Kinsey, Erica Kuligowski, Gerta Köster, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Axel Mossberg, Rosaria Ono, Michael Spearpoint, Ken Strahan, Stephen D. Wong
  • Published: 08 August 2024 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A Human Behaviour in Fires permanent working group under the auspices of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) was established in 2021. The group held two workshops in September and October 2023 to identify gaps in human behavior research. This paper summarizes the conclusions of the workshop participants. Obstacles to human behavior in fire research fell into three categories, with a number of obstacles in each category: (1) five logistical obstacles, (2) five research-focused obstacles, and (3) three ethical/legal obstacles. Research for funding was identified as a key determinant to overcome the obstacles.
    • The paper acknowledged that every three years a Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference is hosted by the International Association for Wildland Fires, though there has not been a human behavior fire symposium for building fires since 2015.
Human behaviour in fire: Knowledge foundation and temporal evolution
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Milad Haghani, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Mary Langridge Button, Enrico Ronchi, Erica Kuligowski
  • Published: March 2024 in Fire Safety Journal
  • Key takeaways:
    • The paper conducted a review of 1,900 human behavior in fire research papers and references to identify 6,600 frequently cited references. Analysis of citation revealed trends, up and coming research areas, knowledge gaps,and influential research which could be divided into clusters by themes.
    • The 3rd most significant cluster of human behavior research was "wildfire evacuation", including review studies, theoretical studies, and case studies. The decision to evacuate was a recurrent theme. Wildfire evacuation research has been growing since 2010.
    • The 8th most significant cluster is "wildfire evacuation simulations", focused on evacuation decision zones. Research has ebbed and flowed on this topic since 2005.
    • "Wildfire evacuation behavior" (11th most significant cluster) and "bushfire emergency" (15th most significant cluster) were also significant human behavior in fire topics. The references cited within each cluster is what differentiates them from each other.
The state of wildfire and bushfire science: Temporal trends, research divisions and knowledge gaps
  • Keyword: Fire Modeling, Evacuation Modeling, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Wildland Fire Management
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Milad Haghani, Erica Kuligowski, Abbas Rajabifard, Crystal A. Kolden
  • Published: September 2022 in Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • As of 2021, this paper reviewed the research published on wildfires, totaling 13,000 items, growing at a rate of approximately 1,200 articles a year.
    • The five major divisions into which the research can be divided are (1) forest ecology and climate, (2) fire detection and mapping technologies, (3) community risk mitigation and planning, (4) soil and water ecology, and (5) atmospheric science, with (2) and (3) most relevant to fire engineers.
    • Of the research areas showing growth, "fire risk modelling/mapping" and "human behavior" are the two most related to fire engineering. Human behavior research is relatively lacking and represents a knowledge gap.
Evacuation decision-making and behavior in wildfires: Past research, current challenges and a future research agenda
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Traffic
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Erica Kuligowski
  • Published:March 2021 in Fire Safety Journal
  • Key takeaways:
    • This paper reviews the current state of WUI evacuation research and then identifies future areas for evacuation research and data collection.
    • Future evacuation research includes: 1) the stages of decision making, including the impact of risk/threat perception and other WUI/evacuation experiences; 2) the stages of evacuation, including the time between having made the decision to evacuate and movement; 3) evacuation behaviors outside of the United States and Australia and evacuation behaviors of Indigenous people in those two countries behave; 4) decision making for evacuation route and destination; mode of evacuation transportation, including decisions regarding the use personal vehicles, trailers to transport livestock, public transportation; 5) side trips during evacuation to gather family members be they older relatives or children in school; 6) flexibility in evacuation choices based on changing fire and traffic conditions; 7) driving behavior impacts from changing driving conditions, including reduced visibility or unfamiliarity with alternative routes.
    • Research into these topics will improve the quality of WUI evacuation models, which overestimate evacuation times. The need for better data collection, both quantitative and qualitative, and potential methods for both is discussed.
Integrating an urban fire model into an operational wildland fire model to simulate one dimensional wildland–urban interface fires: a parametric study
  • Keyword: Urban Planning, Fire Modelling, Structure Fire, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Dwi M. J. Purnomo, Yiren Qin, Maria Theodori, Maryam Zamanialaei, Chris Lautenberger, Arnaud Trouvé, Michael J. Gollner
  • Published: 18 October 2024 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • Researchers developed a one-dimensional landscape-scale model by integrating a semi-physical urban fire spread model into a Eulerian level set model of wildfire. The model includes ignition and spread through radiation, direct flame contact and ember deposition.
    • The 2017 Thomas Fire in California was referenced in the study.
    • The relative change of fire spread rate in various scenarios highlighted the positive impact of fire-resistant structure materials over surface treatment. Structural and vegetation layout configurations played a pivotal role in fire spread. Consistent with current mitigation recommendations, isolated areas of combustibles were effective in reducing the fire spread rate.
    • Further detailed and comprehensive studies are necessary to develop more advanced fire mitigation recommendations.
An efficient, multi-scale neighbourhood index to quantify wildfire likelihood
  • Keyword: Fire Behavior, Wildland Fire Management, Fire Modelling, Urban Planning, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Case Study
  • Location: Australia, Oceania
  • Authors: Douglas A. G. Radford, Holger R. Maier, Hedwig van Delden, Aaron C. Zecchin, Amelie Jeanneau
  • Published: 26 April 2024 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • Computational models to simulate and evaluate available fire mitigation efforts to determine application location typically use two model types; landscape fire simulation or asset-centric models. Landscape fire simulations are popular, but are computationally demanding, due to the number of scenarios which must be calculated. Asset-centric models are significantly quicker to develop but lack the level of detail provided in the landscape models.
    • The authors propose a third option, a neighborhood index, akin to the asset-centric models and thus calculation efficient, but also able to consider the large scale and complexities of WUI fire behavior.
    • The researchers conducted a case study in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia.
    • While successful in identifying historical fire areas using relatively little computational power, the model was limited in its ability to address changing variables such as weather. The neighborhood index could be useful under certain conditions such as table-top exercises or sensitivity analysis of fuel treatment locations.
Urban design and wildfire engineering at the wildland-urban interface: a review of international urban planning and building requirements
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Building Standards, Urban Planning
  • Location: Australia, Canada, United States, New Zealand, France, Spain, Chile, Portugal Oceania, North America, Europe, South America
  • Authors: Greg Penney, Greg Baker, Andres Valencia, Danial Gorham
  • Published: October 2024 in Australian Journal of Emergency Management
  • Key takeaways:
    • Building on a 2014 study of WUI risk mitigation via urban planning, the authors reviewed various WUI-related urban design legislation, policy and frameworks in multiple countries. The authors extend the previous analysis of international WUI building and planning requirements, by providing a review of strategic governance, regulations, and engineering practices.
    • Australia, Canada, United States, New Zealand, France, Spain, Chile, Portugal are reviewed in comparison to 9 design principals to reduce vulnerability and improve response.
Global expansion of wildland-urban interface (WUI) and WUI fires: insights from a multiyear worldwide unified database (WUWUI)
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Fire Modeling, Case Study
  • Location: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania
  • Authors: Wenfu Tang, Cenlin He, Louisa Emmons, Junzhe Zhang
  • Published: 19 March 2024 in IOP Science Open Access, Environmental Research Letters
  • Key takeaways:
    • To understand the change of WUI, researchers developed a worldwide unified wildland-urban interface database for 2001–2020 with Random Forest models and satellite data. They found that WUI has been increasing in all populated continents from 2001 to 2020.
    • Global total fire counts decreased between 2005 to 2020, though the WUI fraction of fire counts increased. The global total burned area decreased from 2005 to 2020, but the WUI fraction of burned area increased significantly. More fires, though of smaller size are taking place in the WUI than in wildland areas, which may be a result of active fire management in the WUI versus wildland areas.
    • Africa experienced the largest increase in WUI fraction of fire counts and WUI fraction of burned areas.
Examining the existing definitions of wildland-urban interface for California
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Fire Modeling
  • Location: North America, United States
  • Authors: Mukesh Kumar, Shu Li, Phu Nguyen, Tirtha Banerjee
  • Published: 22 December 2022 in Ecosphere, an ESA Open Access Journal
  • Key takeaways:
    • In 2010, California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection adapted the federal definition of the WUI in a new WUI mapping called Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP). The FRAP modified the definition of WUIs (intermix and interface) in terms of the housing density thresholds. The researchers then used data from 2010-2017 to compare the FRAP maps of the WUI with that of the U.S. Forest Service to try to answer 4 questions:
    • 1) Where are the wildfires (a) igniting and (b) burning relative to the WUI? Relatively few fires ignite within the WUI.
    • 2) What is the impact of buffer distance on the percentage overlap of fire perimeters and fire ignition points in the WUI? Extending the WUI with a buffer zone increased the number of wildfires igniting and burning.
    • 3) Where is the WUI located in terms of elevation and the complexity of the terrain? Much of the California’s WUI is on complex topography where firefighting operations are challenging. Meteorological factors, including wind speed, and the topography result in a potentially higher rate of fire spread and need for increased spotting distances.
    • 4) What is the relative importance of WUI parameters that impact wildfire occurrence and size within or near the WUI? The density of vegetation and topography correlates to large wildfires, while small wildfires are most correlated with distance between ignition point and the WUI.
    • The two maps (FRAP vs USDA) have different sensitivities in the context of buffer distance or overlaps with previous wildfire events, but are not significantly different in determining wildfire locations.
Guidance on Design and Construction of the Built Environment Against Wildland Urban Interface Fire Hazard: A Review
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Building Standards, Defensible Space
  • Location: Europe, North America, Oceania, Italy, France, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand
  • Authors: Paolo Intini, Enrico Ronchi, Steven Gwynne & Noureddine Bénichou
  • Published: 16 September 2019 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A review a of WUI international standards and guidelines from around the globe was undertaken. A template was developed and used to consistently present and compare information about hazard (risk, buffer zones, terrain), land (vegetation, topography), building construction (roof, walls, openings, decks), resources (water supply, firefighters, planning), fire protection measures, environment (weather, WUI history), and access (roads).
    • Across the international standards, there was consistency in defining WUI risk areas and severity, land factors including the definition of defensible space, and recommendations/ requirements for building construction components/materials and road access.
    • In contrast, there were widespread deficiencies in the requirements/ recommendations about resources, fire protection measures (for water sources), and environmental factors.
Wildland–Urban Interface Fires in Spain: Summary of the Policy Framework and Recommendations for Improvement
  • Keyword:Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Building Standards, Wildland Fire Management
  • Location:Europe, Spain
  • Authors:Elsa Pastor, Juan Antonio Muñoz, David Caballero, Alba Àgueda, Ferran Dalmau & Eulàlia Planas
  • Published:26 June 2019 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • This paper reviews review of the Spain’s regulations, codes, plans and recommendations on WUI fire prevention and management. The paper identifies gaps, making recommendations regarding building and urban planning standards, technical codes for WUI communities, design of road networks and accessibility, dimension of water supply networks, ignitability and combustibility of residential vegetation, role of construction methods and materials, and the wildland–industrial interface.
Identifying Research Needs for Canadian Wildfire Building Code Development
  • Keyword:Building Standard, Case Study, Urban Planning, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location:Canada, North America
  • Authors:Hannah Carton, John Gales, Eric B. Kennedy
  • Published:October 2024 in Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference 2023
  • Key takeaways:
    • The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) developed Canada’s first National Guide for Wildland-Urban-Interface Fires, based codes, standards, and guidelines from other countries. However, differences in climate, vegetation, infrastructure, and materials, means some of the recommendations from international are not applicable.
    • The study conducted a literature review of the effectiveness of wildfire codes, regulation, and/or guidance that should be considered in a future Canadian wildfire building code. The objective of the literature review was to (1) identify existing research and knowledge gaps in wildfire code development studies and (2) prioritize potential research needs to inform the development of a Canadian wildfire code. The need for additional WUI research on codes and standards applicable to Indigenous communities and heritage properties was identified.
Wildfire Resilient Building Design Guidelines for Canadian Locations
  • Keyword:Building Standard, Case Study, Urban Planning
  • Location:Canada, North America
  • Authors:Abhishek Gaur, Henry Lu, Noureddine Benichou
  • Published:19 December 2024 in Proceedings of the 9th International Building Physics Conference (IBPC 2024)
  • Key takeaways:
    • National Research Council of Canada has initiated an effort to implement the National Guide for Wildland-Urban-Interface Fires at several National Building Code of Canada (NBC) location.
    • This paper explains the current state of work to quantify current and future projected wildfire hazard at the NBC reference locations. The project will calculate the exposure level of buildings to wildfire hazards based on fuel-types and slopes, resulting in construction guidelines for different levels of wildfire property management specific to Canada.
Emerging Risks of Wildfires at the Wildland-Urban Interface in Mexico
  • Keyword:Building Standards, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning
  • Location:Mexico, North America
  • Authors:Sandra Vaiciulyte, Alejandro Rivero-Villar & Louise Guibrunet
  • Published:21 February 2023 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • With the exception of Canada and the United States WUI areas across the Americas have not been fully evaluated. In Mexico, WUI fires are typically perceived as a forest ecosystems issue rather than as a threat to populations.
    • This paper sets out to understand to what extent WUI fire present risk to WUI populations in Mexico. The researchers used official datasets, documentation regarding preparedness, mitigation and response to wildfires affecting urban populations, as well as media news sources to supplement information. The researchers conclude that there is a WUI population fire risk in Mexico, which will require efforts to educate the population and mitigate the WUI fire risk.
Building wildland–urban interface zone resilience through performance-based wildfire engineering. A holistic theoretical framework
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location:None Identified
  • Authors:Stergios Tampekis, Stavros Sakellariou, Palaiologos Palaiologou, Garyfallos Arabatzis, Apostolos Kantartzis, Chrisovalantis Malesios, Anastasia Stergiadou, Dimitrios Fafalis,Evangelos Tsiaras
  • Published:10 July 2023 in Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
  • Key takeaways:
    • The authors use the performance-based engineering (PBE) design approach for WUI, based on the PBE which has improved seismic and hurricane risk decision-making using benchmarks and design methods that based on scientific analysis, offering alternative solutions to stakeholders to better inform their decisions.
    • The proposed framework is developed from the total probability theorem and divides the risk assessment into: (1) hazard (wildfire) analysis, (2) social-ecological impact characterization, (3) social-ecological interaction analysis, (4) social-ecological impact analysis, (5) damage analysis, and (6) loss analysis. The analysis takes into account different wildfire scenarios, the effects of wildfires on the WUI, damage, and loss analyses.
Modeling fire ignition patterns in Mediterranean urban interfaces
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation,Fire Modeling
  • Location:Italy, Europe
  • Authors:M. Elia, V. Giannico, R. Lafortezza, G. Sanesi
  • Published:17 May 2018 in Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment
  • Key takeaways:
    • Two linear models to assess patterns of fire ignition points, in terms of occurrence (presence/absence) and frequency (number of ignition points per area) in Apulia region of southern Italy, were developed. By applying statistical tests to each model to evaluate the most important human and/or biophysical drivers influencing occurrence and frequency of WUI fires.
    • The models’ dependent variables (fire ignition occurrence points and frequency) are negatively correlated with population density, but positively correlated for WUI areas, including croplands, forests, shrublands, and grasslands. Elevation and slope increased the probability of ignition.
Toward Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Wildland–Urban Interface Communities for Wildfires
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Modeling, Fire Spread, Case Study, Wildland Fire Management
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Authors:Nima Masoudvaziri, Negar Elhami-Khorasani, Kang Sun
  • Published:03 March 2023 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A mathematical model was developed to evaluate a community’s response to potential wildfire scenarios. The methodology has three primary features: (1) it is based on stochastic modeling of fire spread; (2) it breaks the wildfire incident into two consecutive segments: spread inside the wildland and spread inside the community; (3) it integrates the two spread models as a conditional probability.
    • The paper focuses on fire spread within a community and applies the proposed methodology to two case studies in California, US. The two case studies demonstrate variations in fire spread within the communities for the given fire scenarios approaching from the wildland.
Wildfire Risk Assessment in a Typical Mediterranean Wildland–Urban Interface of Greece
  • Keyword: Case Study, Fire Modeling, Wildland Fire Management, Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location:Greece, Europe
  • Authors:Ioannis Mitsopoulos, Giorgos Mallinis, Margarita Arianoutsou
  • Published:24 December 2014 in Environmental Management
  • Key takeaways:
    • Using the U.S. Forest Service’s ArcFuels vegetation management model, along with FlamMap’s minimum travel time, a risk assessment of three wildfire scenarios was conducted for a typical WUI area in Greece. Representative vegetation fuel models were developed based on field studies and interpretation of photographs.
    • The research develops information to assist in short-term predictions of WUI fire risks and wildland fire management strategies.
Characterisation of Hedge Burning in the Context of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Prevention
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Fire Behavior, Building Standards, Fire Modeling, Defensible Space
  • Location: United States, Canada, Chile, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Australia, North America, Europe, South America, Oceania
  • Authors:Virginie Tihay-Felicelli, Karina Meerpoel-Pietri, Paul-Antoine Santoni, Yolanda Perez-Ramirez, Anthony Graziani, Frédéric Morandini, Camille Luciani, William Mell, Alexander Maranghides
  • Published:08 January 2025 in Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • Vegetation surrounding buildings is a primary source of fire spread in the WUI, thus prevention emphasizes “defensible zones” limiting combustible materials including vegetation.
    • The standards for defensible zones and building construction standards for several countries are highlighted.
    • A field scale experiment of a hedges close to a building to determine heat release rate, flame front geometry, and heat fluxes was conducted and compared to the worldwide standards.
EcoSmart Fire as Structure Ignition Model in Wildland Urban Interface: Predictions and Validations
  • Keyword: Fire Modeling, Fire Dynamics, Case Study
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Mark A. Dietenberger, Charles R. Boardman
  • Published:21 November 2016 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • The model EcoSmart Fire and Fire Dynamic Simulator were validated against fire experiments for heat flux, heat release rate and flame extinction coefficient.
    • A case study of a house exposed to four burning trees was conducted to evaluate potential ignition of exterior redwood cladding.
Experimental Study of Heat Transfer Through Windows Exposed to a Radiant Panel Heater
  • Keyword: Building Standards, Fire Dynamics, Fire Spread, Fire Safety Research Institute
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Rebekah L. Schrader, Shuna Ni, Nicholas W. Dow, Joseph M. Willi, Matthew J. DiDomizio, Gavin P. Horn
  • Published:08 January 2025 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Window openings represent an important vulnerability to WUI fires, by allowing heat transfer to interior combustibles and if the window fails, an entry point for flames and firebrands.
    • The study compared heat transfer through windows with various common construction variables: plain (annealed) versus tempered glass, single- versus double-pane, low-emissivity coating versus no coating, and air-filled versus argon-filled pane gap, when exposed to a radiant heat panel.
    • While some windows performed better than others, in several instances, the heat flux behind the window exceeded the critical heat flux required for ignition of common household items.
Window Pane Failure During Exterior Fire Exposure
  • Keyword: Building Standards, Fire Dynamics, Fire Spread, Fire Safety Research Institute
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors:Joseph M. Willi, Daniel J. Gorham, Gavin P. Horn
  • Published:27 December 2024 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Window openings represent an important vulnerability to WUI fires, by allowing heat transfer to interior combustibles and if the window fails, an entry point for flames and firebrands.
    • The study compared heat transfer through multi-pane window assemblies: Double pane window assemblies with both panes plain (annealed) glass, both panes tempered glass, and one plain glass, one tempered glass pane, when exposed to a compartment fire that had flashed-over.
    • The heat flux behind the double pane windows exceeded the critical heat flux required for ignition of common household items.
Characterizing Firebrand Exposure from Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) Fires: Results from the 2007 Angora Fire
  • Keyword: Case Study, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors:Samuel L. Manzello & Ethan I. D. Foote
  • Published:22 September 2012 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the 2007 fire in Angora California, the opportunity arose to analyze actual firebrands size distribution through an analysis of burn patterns observed after the fire. The observations were then compared to the firebrands generated by NIST’s firebrand generator and previous field studies.
    • The Angora fire created small firebrands consistently, which correlate closely with firebrands generated through the NIST Dragon.
Review of Pathways for Building Fire Spread in the Wildland Urban Interface Part I: Exposure Conditions
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location:None Identified
  • Authors:Sara E. Caton, Raquel S. P. Hakes, Daniel J. Gorham, Aixi Zhou, Michael J. Gollner
  • Published:13 April 2016 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • The study conducted a literature review of available WUI fire spread research, namely radiant heat, direct flame and firebrands/embers.
    • As firebrands are unique to WUI fires, they are detailed more than the summary of applicable research radiant heat and direct flame. Methodology for firebrand size collection in test scenarios and during actual fires is explained, based on multiple research papers.
    • The paper highlights the NIST Dragon firebrand generator and the larger version at the IBHS Research Center, which can conduct firebrand tests at higher wind speeds and rotate the a building during testing.
    • Research on the transport of firebrands (lofting) is summarized, as is the ignition of materials due to firebrands. Research on ignition from firebrands as glowing combustion (that then die), smoldering ignition, and flaming ignition is summarized.
    • The paper concludes with identifying the limitations of firebrand research (source material, wind speed, length of firebrand shower exposure, real versus simulated fires).
A Review of Pathways for Building Fire Spread in the Wildland Urban Interface Part II: Response of Components and Systems and Mitigation Strategies in the United States
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Building Standards, Structure Fire, Urban Planning, Fire Service, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Authors:Raquel S. P. Hakes, Sara E. Caton, Daniel J. Gorham, Michael J. Gollner
  • Published:18 May 2016 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • In a follow-up to Part 1, this paper focuses on a literature review of the performance of building components (roofs, dormers, gutters, eaves, siding, windows, decks/porches/patios, fences, joints, mulch, often with accumulated debris) when exposed to firebrands, direct flame, and/or radiation in experimental conditions. The lack of a test standard to replicate WUI fire conditions (including multiple potential exposure routes) was identified.
    • The paper also includes a literature review of potentially applicable building standards in the United States, defensible zones for parcel-level risk mitigation, vegetation fuel reduction, importance of community education and outreach, community planning (including housing density), application of gels and foam agents, installation of exterior sprinklers, and firefighting efforts.
    • A variety of risk assessments, using maps, models, and checklists are discussed.
Development of a Field Deployable Firebrand Flux and Condition Measurement System
  • Keyword: Case Study, Fire Dynamics, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Authors:Simone Zen, Jan C. Thomas, Eric V. Mueller, Bhisham Dhurandher, Michael Gallagher, Nicholas Skowronski, Rory M. Hadden
  • Published:23 December 2020 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Firebrands, also known as embers, represent one of the ways in which wildland fires ignite and rapidly increase the rate of spread of a wildfire, but are difficult to measure their size, distribution, or rate of deposition (firebrand flux) in the field.
    • Researchers developed a field-deployable, diagnostic tool, an “emberometer” to measure firebrand flux and the geometry and thermal conditions of firebrands, using visual and infrared imagery.
    • The emberometer was tested in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in field-scale fire experiments.
A Theoretical Model to Understand Some Aspects of Firebrand Pile Burning
  • Keyword:Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location:None Identified
  • Authors:Brian Y. Lattimer, Steven Wong, Jonathan Hodges
  • Published:02 September 2022 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Ignition from firebrand piles is expected, but the fire dynamics of such ignition are not well understood. Heat transfer from the pile depends on local firebrand temperatures, which can vary widely depending on fire behavior.
    • Ignition from firebrand piles is expected, but the fire dynamics of such ignition are not well understood. Heat transfer from the pile depends on local firebrand temperatures, which can vary widely depending on fire behavior.
Investigating Coupled Effect of Radiative Heat Flux and Firebrand Showers on Ignition of Fuel Beds
  • Keyword:Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location:None Identified
  • Authors:Sayaka Suzuki & Samuel L. Manzello
  • Published:16 July 2020 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A new experimental methodology to study the combination of radiant heat flux and firebrand showers is evaluated. A radiant panel and a firebrand generator, are combined in a wind tunnel to simulate potential ignition sources from firebrand showers in an area relatively close to a wildfire and thus subject to pre-heating by radiant heat flux.
    • At the lower wind speed (6 m/s) the radiant heat flux influenced the time to smoldering ignition. At a higher wind speed (8 m/s), the radiant heat flux had little influence. The difference was hypothesized to be the result of different firebrand combustion dynamics at higher wind speeds and requires additional study of firebrand heat of combustion and mass loss profiles, to understand the influence of wind on combustion dynamics.
A Methodology for Experimental Quantification of Firebrand Generation from WUI Fuels
  • Keyword:Firebrands/Embers
  • Location:None Identified
  • Authors:Mohammadhadi Hajilou, Steven Hu, Thomas Roche, Priya Garg, Michael J. Gollner
  • Published:20 April 2021 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A methodology is proposed using a wind tunnel to quantify the generation of firebrands from WUI fuels under different ambient conditions during a series of experiments. The setup allows for the collection of all generated solid firebrands and major downstream gaseous species concentrations.
    • The initial tests focused on branches from two confiers at a fixed wind speed. Calculations determined that approximately 3-4% of the initial dry mass of the conifers became firebrands.
Towards Developing the Scientific Basis for New Testing Methodologies to Quantify and Compare Firebrand Generation from Building Components
  • Keyword:Firebrands/Embers
  • Location:None Identified
  • Authors:Sayaka Suzuki, Tomohiro Naruse & Samuel L. Manzello
  • Published:21 November 2024 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A reduced-scale test methodology to compare firebrand generation from mock-up building assemblies is described. A new series of full-scale experiments under wind conditions focused on roof assemblies fitted with cedar roof coverings was conducted.
    • Fire retardant cedar shakes were observed to produce the least number of firebrands. As wind speed increased, there was an increase in firebrands created from all shingle types, an increase in the range of firebrand sizes, and an increase in the firebrand coefficient (a function of firebrand density and the thickness of firebrands).
NIST Technical Note 2093 - Development of a New Approach to Characterize Firebrand Showers During Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires: A Step Towards High-Fidelity Measurements in Three Dimensions
  • Keyword: Firebrands/Embers, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Nicolas Bouvet, Eric D. Link, Stephen A. Fink
  • Published:May 2020 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2093
  • Key takeaways:
    • A firebrand shower artificially generated at the NIST National Fire Research Laboratory is analyzed by combing two imaging techniques: (1) 3D Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D-PTV), for time-resolved mapping of firebrand 3D trajectories, and (2) 3D Particle Shape Reconstruction (3D-PSR), to reconstruct 3D models of individual particles using the Visual Hull concept.
    • This “emberometer” is intended to be portable enough to deploy in the field to study firebrand fluxes and firebrand size distribution.
    • The emberometer was successfully validated in laboratory experiments for the tracking of particles and particle shapes. The emberometer was then exposed to a short firebrand shower from the NIST Dragon (approximately 700 firebrands over 35 seconds).
    • The emberometer and previously used ground-collection data agreed in two of three firebrand three-dimensional characteristics (height and width). The emberometer overestimated firebrand length, which is a known artificiality due to the placement of cameras in the system in the Visual Hull process. A discussion of adjusting the camera placement to remove the over-estimation was included in the paper.
NIST Technical Note 2161 - Structure Separation Experiments Phase 1 Preliminary Test Plan
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Eric Link, Kuldeep Prasad, Matthew Hoehler, Matthew Bundy, Steven Hawks, Frank Bigelow, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Derek McNamara, Tom Milac, Daniel Gorham, Faraz Hedayati, Bob Raymer, Frank Frievalt, William Walton
  • Published:May 2021 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2161
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report describes the 3-phase plan to evaluate safe structure separation distances (SSD) in the WUI. Phase 1 focuses on sheds, Phase 2 focuses on accessory dwelling unit (ADUs), and Phase 3 will focus on single family homes. Phase 3 will occur once numerical modeling of Phases 1 and 2 using NIST Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) are complete and incorporate lessons learned.
    • This project is a joint research effort by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Full scale tests will be conducted at NIST and IBHS facilities.
    • Phase 1 is divided into two parts. Phase 1A will document the wind conditions at IBHS, developing computer models of the wind conditions. Phase 1B will be the SSD tests. NIST will conduct tests without wind to determine heat release rate and mass loss rate for multiple shed sizes. Heat flux at a noncombustible surface will be recorded. IBHS will conduct full scale test with and without wind to record the heat flux at a representative 1.5-story noncombustible structure at various separation distances.
    • The test specifications to be followed and assigned tasks are delineated. Additional reports will be published with results.
NIST Interagency Report 8436 - Bounding the Structure Separation Distance: A Modeling Study in Support of the Structure Separation Experiments Project
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics, Fire Modeling
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Kuldeep Prasad, Alexander Maranghides, Eric Link, Shonali Nazare, Matthew Hoehler, Matthew Bundy, Rodney Bryant, Steve Hawks, Frank Bigelow, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Tom Milac, Daniel Gorham, Faraz Hedayati, Bob Raymer, Frank Frievalt
  • Published:October 2022 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST IR 8463
  • Key takeaways:
    • In support of the full-scale safe separation distance experiments, fire modeling will be incorporated, with the goal of identifying a upper bound on safe separation distance based on the model.
    • The modeling study will strive to validate the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) for outdoor full-scale experiments. The report discusses the potential use of FDS to design full scale experiments or to test codes and standards.
    • Where full-scale experiments are difficult to execute, such as terrain, modeling such scenarios may be of value.
    • The methodology to estimate an upper boundary of a safe separation distance is outlined. Only radiative heat flux is considered in the FDS model. Ignition from convective heat flux or embers is not considered. The report discusses the complexity of a shed fire that cannot be easily modeled. The complexities include:
    • A simulated crib fire inside a shed with limited oxygen.
    • The ignition of the shed itself, while the fuel inside the shed [wood cribs for modeling purposes] continues to burn and eventually collapses, will result in 2 different heat release rate curves for the two fires.
    • Introduction of oxygen through window failure.
    • Roof collapse which potentially changes the fire plume shape and oxygen flow.
    • Ambient flow field obstruction behind the fire source.
    • Target structure affecting plume dynamics.
NIST Technical Note 2235 - Structure Separation Experiments: Shed Burns without Wind
  • Keyword: Structural Hardeningy, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Faraz Hedayati, Daniel Gorham, Eric Link, Matthew Hoehler, Matthew Bundy, Xareni Monroy, Murray Morrison, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Derek McNamara, Thomas Milac, Steven Hawks, Frank Bigelow, Bob Raymer, Frank Frievalt, William Walton
  • Published:September 2022 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2235
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • This is the first report of multi-phase research and experiments. Initial structure separation experiments for smaller sheds in NIST’s indoor laboratory (therefor no wind) validated the process to measure mass loss which can be interpolated to heat release rates (HRR). Peak heat release rate (PRR) is primarily a function of shed construction, size, and fuel inside the shed. Separation distance and shed openings also contributed to heat fluxes on the target structure. Plastic sheds melted and became pool fires.
    • The indoor fire experiment mass loss method of inferring HRR was successfully applied to a larger structure at the IBHS test facility under no-wind conditions. Peak heat release rate depended on shed construction material with combustible sheds generating a PRR of 4 times that of a noncombustible shed of similar size and fuel load. The shed orientation relative to the primary target and shed openings contributed to the heat flux of the noncombustible sheds.
    • Large sheds and other secondary structures are typically subject to local building codes for location and spacing. The regulation of smaller structures varies. This report can be used by code developers to minimize fire spread from secondary structures in the WUI.
NIST Technical Note 2199 - NIST Outdoor Structure Separation Experiments (NOSSE): Preliminary Test Plan
  • Keyword: Structural Hardeningy, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Eric Link, Matthew Bundy, Artur Chernovsky, Erik Johnsson, Kathryn Butler, Steven Hawks, Frank Bigelow, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Derek McNamara, Tom Milac, Daniel Gorham, Faraz Hedayati, Bob Raymer, Frank Frievalt, William Walton
  • Published:January 2022 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2199
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • Building on the results of NIST TN 2235, this document explains the procedure for full scale fire tests under wind conditions to evaluate Structure Separation Distance (SSD). Three sizes of exterior sheds, built of combustible and non-combustible materials adjacent to a California Building Code Chapter 7A compliant non-combustible wall and a wall of constructed of combustible materials, will be tested. The experiments will quantify the heat exposure of the wall under wind conditions.
NIST Technical Note 2253 - NIST Outdoor Structure Separation Experiments (NOSSE) with Wind
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Kathryn M. Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Eric Link, Matthew Bundy, Artur Chernovsky, William D. Walton, Steven Hawks, Frank Bigelow, William (Ruddy) Mell, Anthony Bova, Derek McNamara, Thomas Milac, Robert Raymer, Frank Frievalt
  • Published:May 2023 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2253
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • Using the procedures outlined in TN 2235, thirteen outdoor shed burn experiments were conducted to evaluate the implication of wind on radiant and convective heat exposure from an example shed to a target structure, representing structure-to-structure fire spread in the WUI.
    • Sheds of 120 square feet or larger are regulated by the International Wildland-Urban Interface code and Chapter 7A of the California Building Code for construction of non-combustible or ignition resistant materials if located within 50 feet of a primary structure. Smaller sheds lack guidance.
    • The target structure represented a single-story residence, with an exterior wall, window, and vented roof eave. Twelve of the experiments included a fire-hardened target structure, while one experiment was for a combustible target, to demonstrate the value of structure hardening for fire resistance. The combustible target ignited within 6 minutes of fire exposure.
    • During the experiment, as wind speed increased, the flames from the shed tilted towards the target structure, increasing the convective and radiative heat transfer.
    • The experiments concluded that the minimum safe structure distance (SSD) in all directions was 1) 10 feet for combustible and non-combustible sheds of less than 26 square feet and to have openings oriented away from adjacent structures and 2) 15 feet for sheds between 26-64 square feet.
NIST Technical Note 2288 - NIST Eave and Vent Experiments (EaVE) EaVEs Phase A: Test Plan
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Christopher U. Brown, Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Giovanni Di Cristina, D. Michelle Bailey, Lucy Fox, Eric Link, Selvarajah Ramesh, Xareni Monroy, J. Houston Miller, Erin E. McCaughey, Monica M. Flores
  • Published:May 2024 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2288
  • Key takeaways:
    • During Phase 1 of the Structure Separation Distance experiments (TN 2199 (NIST Indoor Structure Separation Experiments (NISSE)) and TN 2553 (NIST Outdoor Structure Separation Experiments (NOSSE)), the failure of eave vents was observed.
    • This report delineates the planned full-scale experiments to be conducted by NIST to understand the performance and potential failure mechanisms of California Building Code Chapter 7A Wildfire Flame and Ember Resistant Vents in comparison to the ASTM E2886 test method under simulated WUI fire conditions.
    • The target structure represented a single-story residence, with an exterior wall, window, and vented roof eave. Twelve of the experiments included a fire-hardened target structure, while one experiment was for a combustible target, to demonstrate the value of structure hardening for fire resistance. The combustible target ignited within 6 minutes of fire exposure.
    • “This experiment series will be referred to as “EAVEs Phase A.” Following the completion of EAVEs Phase A, additional experiments will assess the performance of other eave vents with different operating mechanisms. The final series will be EAVEs Phase C experiments that will aim to develop recommendations to revise the ASTM E2886 test method for eave vents or to propose a new test method.”
NIST Technical Note 1600 - Residential Structure Separation Fire Experiments
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Alexander Maranghides, Erik L. Johnsson
  • Published:August 2008 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 1600
  • Key takeaways:
    • The goal of the NIST community Fire spread Project is to develop tools and experiments that assess and mitigate the risks of fire spread within WUI communities.
    • This report explains two experiments conducted by NIST to document fire spread between adjacent structures 6 feet apart. One test scenario used combustible construction and the second experiment used noncombustible construction. .
    • The target structure represented a single-story residence, with an exterior wall, window, and vented roof eave. Twelve of the experiments included a fire-hardened target structure, while one experiment was for a combustible target, to demonstrate the value of structure hardening for fire resistance. The combustible target ignited within 6 minutes of fire exposure.
    • After the window in the combustible assembly failed, the adjacent structure ignited approximately 1.25 minutes later. The noncombustible construction prevented ignition of the adjacent structure, even though the window in the assembly failed.
    • The data collected in these two experiments has been used to improve NIST Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) and to develop future fire spread test scenarios.
NIST Technical Note TN - 2228 Wind-Driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Fences and Mulch
  • Keyword:Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Dynamics, Defensible Space
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Kathryn M. Butler, Erik L. Johnsson, Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Marco Fernandez, Mariusz Zarzecki, Wei Tang, Eric Auth, Rachel McIntyre, Michael Pryor, William Saar, Colin McLaughlin
  • Published:August 2022 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2228
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • This is the first report in multi-study analysis of pathways of fire spread in the WUI from landscape to structures. NIST conducted 187 tests to evaluate fire spread from fences and landscape mulch in various configurations and materials to a target structure representing a residence or auxiliary structure. Fire spread by mulch and/or fences was observed in several of the case studies conducted by NIST of the Witch Creek and Waldo Canyon fires (NIST TN 1635, 1796, and 1910).
    • Fences were constructed of 5 different materials: western redcedar, California redwood, pine, vinyl, and wood-plastic composites. Three styles of fences were tested: privacy, lattice, and good neighbor (board on board). Five types of mulch were tested: shredded hardwood, mini pine bark nuggets, pine straw, rubber, and artificial turf. Experiments were conducted in 5 configurations: mulch only, fence only, fence plus mulch, parallel fences, and long-range firebrand experiments. Wind speeds varied between 13 mi/h to 31 mi/h.
    • Many of the configurations rapidly spread fire, with wind playing an important role in fire spread.
    • Additional observations and recommendations are offered for various hazard configurations (very high hazard, high hazard, medium hazard, low hazard) and for future studies. Maintenance of defensible spaces and hardening structures against embers is reinforced.
    • Despite the limitations of the experimental conditions, recommendations to address fire hazards, life safety, hazard reduction and future work include:
    • The combination of fuels increased the fire hazard (i.e. fences + mulch).
    • In most scenarios, firebrands from fences and/or mulch ignited spot fires downwind.
    • Burning fences may impact egress paths adjacent to structures.
    • The fire spread rate varied depending on wind, presence of mulch, fence materials, and design.
    • A standard test method is needed to better evaluate the fire characteristics of the variety of fence materials and configurations.
NIST Technical Note 2251 - Wind-Driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Firewood Piles
  • Keyword:Structural Hardening, NIST Case Study, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Dynamics, Defensible Space
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Erik L. Johnsson, Kathryn M. Butler, Marco Fernandez, Mariusz Zarzecki, Wei Tang, Shonali Nazare, Daniel Barrett, Michael Pryor, Alexander Maranghides
  • Published:April 2023 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2251
  • Link: NIST WUI Fire Days
  • Key takeaways:
    • As part of a continuing analysis of pathways of fire spread in the WUI from landscape combustibles to structures, 62 experiments to analyze fire spread and firebrand travel from wood piles, representing stacks of firewood on a WUI property, to a target structure representing a residence or auxiliary structure. Fire spreading from a woodpile to a structure was observed in the Witch Creek Fire (NIST TN 1635 and 1796)
    • The firewood tested included kiln-dried maple, oak (dry and green) and eastern white pine. Woodpile height, orientation, and elevation on a rack were variables. Wind speeds varied between 13 mi/h to 31 mi/h.
    • Many of the configurations rapidly spread fire, with wind playing an important role in fire spread.
    • Significant volumes of firebrands were generated in all experiments, regardless of fuel type, orientation, elevation, or wind speed. As firewood piles, even a distance from structure represent a fire spread hazard via embers, the benefits of structural hardening to reduce ember exposure, is reinforced.
    • The report includes a discussion of potential mitigation efforts and the need for additional research on mitigation for firewood pile hazards. Some of the recommendations from the report on fences and mulch (TN 2228) may be applicable to firewood piles. The potential use of the embrometer (TN 2093) to collect data on firebrands was discussed.
NIST Technical Note 2292 - Preliminary Field Burns of RV Trailers with External Ignitions
  • Keyword:Structural Hardening, Defensible Space, Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors:Eric D. Link, Shonali Nazare, Karen Jackson, Lucy Fox, Alexander Maranghides
  • Published:July 2024 by NIST Wildland-Urban Interface Group
  • Link: NIST TN 2292
  • Key takeaways:
    • In collaboration with the Austin (Texas) Fire Department, U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission staff, two recreational vehicle (RV) trailers were ignited from the exterior to replicate WUI parcel-level fire spread to a parked RV. The goal of the outdoor experiments was to observe and document the fire behavior of fully furnished RV trailers to evaluate the potential to conduct subsequent indoor laboratory experiments.
    • The fire for the first RV experiment had a long initial growth period. The ignition location was changed for the second experiment, resulting in a shorter initial growth and a more intense fire.
    • Significant flame lengths of 26 feet, extending 12 feet radially from the trailer were observed in the second burn.
    • Based on total mass and burn duration, a heat release rate of 30 MW was calculated mathematically. More accurate measurements would require burning under a calorimeter.
    • The size and intensity of a RV trailer fire may exceed the size and safety limits of the indoor burn lab at the National Fire Research Lab. While an outdoor fire experiment could be conducted, measurement and data collection of mass loss, heat release rate, and smoke characteristics via a calorimeter may not be achievable. Smoke characteristics could be potentially determined with movable equipment.
Mitigation Assessment Team Report Marshall Fire: Building Performance, Observations, Recommendations, and Technical Guidance
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuations, Case Study, Wildland Fire Management, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Published: Revised April 2025 by FEMA Building Science Disaster Support Program
  • Link: Marshall Fire MAT Report
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the December 2021 wildfire in Boulder County, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Science Disaster Support (BSDS) Program deployed its first Mitigation Assessment Team (MAT) to review structural performance during wildfire exposures.
    • The report begins with documenting topography, wildfire history, weather conditions, and codes and regulations in effect.
    • The MAT identified Community, building and parcel level wildfire vulnerabilities. The report makes 31 conclusions and 56 recommendations for federal agencies, code and standard organizations, state and local government, and homeowners.
    • Reports that were previously standalone, were incorporated as appendices:
    • Appendix D: Homeowner's Guide to Risk Reduction and Remediation of Residential Smoke Damage
    • Appendix E: Homeowner’s Guide to Reducing Risk of Structure Ignition from Wildfire
    • Appendix F: Homeowner’s Guide to Reducing Wildfire Risk Through Defensible Space
    • Appendix G: Decreasing Risk of Structure-to-Structure Fire Spread in a Wildfire
    • Appendix H: Mitigation Strategies to Address Multi-Hazard Events
    • Appendix I: Best Practices for Wildfire-Resilient Subdivision Planning
    • Appendix J: Wildfire-Resilient Detailing, Joint Systems, and Interfaces of Building Components
Maui Wildfires Mitigation Assessment Team Compendium Report
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuations, Case Study, Wildland Fire Management, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Published: May 2025 by FEMA Building Science Disaster Support Program
  • Link: Maui Fire MAT Report
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the August 2023 wildfires, a FEMA Mitigation Assessment Team deployed to Maui, the second MAT team to analyze a wildfire.
    • The report begins with documenting topography, wildfire history, weather conditions, and codes and regulations in effect.
    • Two summary and five recovery advisory reports were subsequently published and included as appendices to the updated report.
    • Summary Report 1: Codes, Standards, and Permitting (February 2025, revised April 2025)
    • Summary Report 2: Performance of Residential Buildings (February 2025, revised April 2025)
    • Recovery Advisory 1: Wildfire Recovery Resources (August 2024, revised April 2025) Recovery Advisory 2: Reducing Wildfire Risk to Your Home (October 2024, revised April 2025)
    • Recovery Advisory 3: Designing New Residential Structures to Decrease Wildfire Risk (October 2024, revised April 2025)
    • Recovery Advisory 4: Fire-Resistant Materials and Assemblies (October 2024, revised April 2025)
    • Recovery Advisory 5: Multi-Hazard Considerations and Mitigation Strategies for Residential Structures (May 2025)
    • The recommendations focus on 1) Codes and Standards, 2) Ordinances, Permitting, and Code Enforcement, 3) Structure and Building Envelope Hardening, 4) Defensible Space, and 5) Maintenance. The recommendations apply to homeowners, local and state government, federal agencies, and code organizations.
    • The Maui MAT report reference NIST 2205, NIST 2228, Marshall MAT reports, and Building Codes Save Study.
Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network Resources
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuations, Wildland Fire Management, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Link: FAC Resources
  • Key takeaways:
    • The FAC Net resources are in 10 topics: Resident Mitigation, Wildfire Response, Safety & Evacuation, Recovery, Infrastructure & Business, Regulations, Policy & Plans, Prevention, Public Health, Landscape Treatments, Partnerships & Community Engagement
    • Videos, handouts, reports, graphics, and facilitator’s guides are available.
Identify and Assess Community Risk
  • Keyword:Community Wildfire Protection Plans, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resource, U.S. Fire Administration
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Funding Type:U.S. Fire Administration
  • Link: Identify Community Risk
  • Link: Assess Community Risk
  • Key takeaways:
    • Resources and guides to help communities identify and evaluate their risks and develop their Community Wildfire Protection Plan are provided.
    • Resources are available to share with the community to increase the safety of all community members.
Collaborate with Local Groups and Build Partnerships
  • Keyword:Community Wildfire Protection Plans, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources, U.S. Fire Administration
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Funding Type:U.S. Fire Administration
  • Link: Collaborate with Local Groups
  • Link: Build Partnerships
  • Key takeaways:
    • Resources to encourage community engagement in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan development process.
Wildfire Evacuation
  • Keyword:Community Wildfire Protection Plans, Wildland Evacuation, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources, U.S. Fire Administration
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Funding Type:U.S. Fire Administration
  • Link: Wildfire Evacuation
  • Key takeaways:
    • Resources and guides to help communities evaluate their evacuation plans are provided.
WUI Fire Community Awareness Explorer and WUI Fire Property Awareness Explorer
  • Keyword:Community Wildfire Protection Plans, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources, U.S. Fire Administration
  • Location:United States, North America
  • Funding Type:U.S. Fire Administration
  • Link: WUI Awareness
  • Key takeaways:
    • The U.S. Fire Administration has two online GIS applications, the WUI Fire Property Awareness Explorer and the WUI Fire Community Awareness Explorer. Both can be used to raise community awareness of potential for WUI fires and in the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
    • The WUI Fire Property Awareness Explorer allows users to search based on street address to understand the distance to wildlands, structures, and structure density, which can inform whether the address is in an Ember Zone, Ignition Zone, or Wildland Zone.
    • The WUI Fire Community Awareness Explorer can be used to help identify areas that can could benefit from risk reduction and community education/outreach efforts.
    • Access to WUI data sets is also available from the webpage.
Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study of Loss Prevention & Building Codes Save: Fire Hazards Pilot Study
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Case Study, Building Standards, Structural Hardening, U.S. Fire Administration
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Fire Administration
  • Published: Revised May 2025
  • Link: Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study of Loss Prevention
  • Link: Building Codes Save: Fire Hazards Pilot Study
  • Key takeaways:
    • The FEMA study evaluates the financial impact of weather-related disasters and the benefits of adoption of modern building codes.
    • As the initial FEMA study did not consider fires and wildfires, the Fire Hazards Pilot Study by both FEMA and USFA, identified the adoption of California Building Code Chapter 7A and/or International Wildland-Urban Interface Code by improving roof coverings, enclosing eaves, installing meshed vents, and fire-resistant exterior siding material can save billions of dollars in future wildfire losses.
Case studies of wildfire evacuations in Canada between 2020 and 2023 using publicly available sources
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuations, Case Study
  • Location: Canada, North America
  • Authors: Maxine Berthiaume, Noureddine Bénichou, Max Kinateder
  • Funding Type: National Research Council of Canada
  • Published: May 2025 by Proceedings of the 22nd ISCRAM Conference Halifax, Canada
  • Key takeaways:
    • A review of publicly available sources for wildfire evacuations between January 2020 and August 2023 in Canada, identified 112 wildfires that led to evacuations. Alberta and British Columbia provinces experienced the most wildfires in that time frame.
    • Five case studies were selected based on 6 criteria: 1) Data availability (e.g., in news articles, reports) 2) Number of people evacuated 3) Duration of the evacuation 4) Number of structures and infrastructure affected 5) Economic impact 6) Size of the wildfire
    • The five fires for case study were: 1) White Rock Lake wildfire in 2021 (British Columbia), 2) Edson Forest Area wildfire in 2023 (Alberta), 3) Lebel-sur-Quévillon wildfire in 2023 (Québec), 4) Tantallon wildfire in 2023 (Nova Scotia), and 5) Behchokǫ̀-Yellowknife wildfire in 2023 (Northwest Territories).
    • For each case study, 29 categories of information about the fire and evacuation were completed and compared.
    • Communication, especially when multiple agencies were involved, was a consistent challenge during the evacuations. Management of the evacuation frustrated residents, including insufficient road infrastructure or remoteness of some communities requiring arial evacuation.
National guide for wildland-urban-interface fires: guidance on hazard and exposure assessment, property protection, community resilience and emergency planning to minimize the impact of wildland-urban interface fires
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Building Standards, Urban Planning, Wildland Fire Management, Traffic, Fire Service, Wildland Evacuation, Structural Hardening
  • Location: Canada, North America
  • Authors: Bénichou, N., Adelzadeh, M., Singh, J., Gomaa, I., Elsagan, N., Kinateder, M., Ma, C., Gaur, A., Bwalya, A., & Sultan, M.
  • Funding Type: National Research Council of Canada
  • Published: 2021 by National Research Council of Canada
  • Key takeaways:
    • Over 5,500 wildfires occur in Canada annually, with an increasing number requiring evacuations (averaging 20 a year since 2010). The guide was developed to document best practices for construction and community development within the Canadian WUI.
    • The Guide defines characteristics of wildland fires, exposure mechanisms, and hazard assessments. The Guide further defines Priority Zones, as an expansion of FireSmart Canada’s zone concepts.
    • Risk mitigation actions in the structure ignition zone are identified, with references to the Canadian National Building Code, as applicable. Community planning resources are discussed, as are emergency planning, community engagement and education, and evacuation planning.
FireSmart Canada
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Building Standards, Urban Planning, Wildland Fire Management, Traffic, Fire Service, Wildland Evacuation, Resources, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: Canada, North America
  • Authors: Bénichou, N., Adelzadeh, M., Singh, J., Gomaa, I., Elsagan, N., Kinateder, M., Ma, C., Gaur, A., Bwalya, A., & Sultan, M.
  • Published: FireSmart Canada
  • Key takeaways:
    • Founded in 1993, FireSmart Canada is a national program to expand community resilience. .
    • The program defines Home Ignition Zones and provides additional information for community education, emergency planning, vegetation management, legislation, interagency cooperation, and cross training.
Wildland fire evacuations in Canada from 1980 to 2021
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Fire Management, Wildland Evacuation, Traffic, Case Study
  • Location: Canada, North America
  • Authors: Christianson, A. C., Johnston, L. M., Oliver, J. A., Watson, D., Young, D., MacDonald, H., Little, J., Macnab, B., & Bautista, N. G.
  • Published: 18 June 2024 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • During the 41 years between 1980 and 2021, there were 1,393 WUI evacuations of 576,747 people, and 4,105 homes burned.
    • The Canadian Wildland Fire Evacuation Database (CWFED) is the only database that tracks wildland fire evacuations in Canada. The paper analyzes the contents of the database and expands on previously published analysis of 1980-2007 Canadian wildland evacuations.
    • The report analyzes:
    • Number of evacuations and evacuees
    • Evacuation duration, seasonality, and characteristics
    • Define evacuation as due to fire or smoke
    • Transportation methods used to evacuate
    • Evacuation characteristics of indigenous population
    • Evacuations coinciding with structural losses and fatalities
Determinants of residential wildfire mitigation uptake: A scoping review, 2013–2022
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Fire Management
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors: Sarah Cowan, Eric B. Kennedy
  • Published: October 2023 in Fire Safety Journal
  • Key takeaways:
    • This article is a literature review of 78 articles focused on residential wildfire mitigation, published between 2013-2022, the first systemic review of residential wildfire mitigation literature.
    • The identified patterns and factors contributing to implementation of residential mitigation efforts have been organized into 9 themes:
    • Social connection and capital
    • Geospatial and land tenure
    • Risk perception
    • Perceived effectiveness
    • Perceived responsibility
    • Education and information
    • Capacity
    • Demographics
    • Regulations
Residents’ Wildfire Evacuation Actions in Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation, Ontario, Canada
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Case Study, Human Behavior
  • Location: Canada, North America
  • Authors: Tara K. McGee, Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation, Amy Cardinal Christianson
  • Published: February 2019 in International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the SLK 35 wildfire in 2011, the Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation in North-Western Ontario, Canada was ordered to evacuate. The wildfire eventually grew to 112,000 hectares and was burning for 1-2 weeks before orders for evacuation were announced.
    • Following interviews with the members of the First Nation, the study sought to better understand the decisions made to evacuate or remain behind.
    • The three research questions guiding the study:
    • How did residents in Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation respond when they were told to evacuate during the wildfire evacuation in June 2011?
    • What factors influenced wildfire evacuation actions?
    • How would residents who tried to or stayed behind in 2011 prefer to respond in the event of a future wildfire evacuation?
    • There are very few studies of the evacuation of Indigenous Communities. While many of the influences on evacuation decision-making are similar to those shown by other communities that have been studied, there are differences.
Case studies of large outdoor fires involving evacuations
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Case Study, Human Behavior, Informal Settlement
  • Location: United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Japan, North America, Oceania, Europe, Asia, Africa
  • Authors: Ronchi, E., Wong, S., Suzuki, S., Theodori, M., Wadhwani, R., Vaiciulyte, S., Gwynne, S., Rein, G., Kristoffersen, M., Lovreglio, R., Marom, I., Ma, C., Antonellis, D., Zhang, X., Wang, Z., & Masoudvaziri, N.
  • Published: February 25, 2021 by International Association for Fire Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report was developed by the Emergency Management & Evacuation (EME) Subgroup of the Large Outdoor Fires & the Built Environment (LOF&BE) group of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS).
    • Following interviews with the members of the First Nation, the study sought to better understand the decisions made to evacuate or remain behind.
    • Case studies of 28 large outdoor fires which required evacuation, from around the world are included in a new database under the auspices of IAFSS.
    • Details on event size, the timeline of the event, actions of first responders, impact of different notification strategies, and response strategies are included in the database for each large fire. A standardized template was developed to document similarities and differences of large fires.
    • Large fires include wildfires, WUI fires, informal settlements, and urban fires. All but the Japan fire (1976) occurred in the last two decades. The Sakata fire is included because of the quality of information available about the severe fire.
Case studies of large outdoor fires involving evacuations Part 2
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Case Study, Human Behavior, Informal Settlement
  • Location:United States, Chile, Australia, Sweden, United Kingdom, Bangladesh, China, India, Philippines, Taiwan, Russia, Japan, South Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, Europe, Asia, Africa
  • Authors:Wang, Y., Wadhwani, R., Suzuki, S., Theodori, M., Asimakopoulou, E., De Beer, J. A., Flores, N., Ibrahim, M. A., Johanna, H., Kempna, K., Manzello, S. L., Sharma, A., Smolka, J., Wickramasinghe, A., Wu, C. L., & Xia, T.
  • Published:July 13, 2022 by International Association for Fire Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • Building upon the database developed and discussed in a 2021 report, this report expands the database to include 26 more large outdoor fires (wildfires, WUI fires, informal settlement fires, and urban fires) outside of North America.
    • Case studies of 28 large outdoor fires which required evacuation, from around the world are included in a new database under the auspices of IAFSS.
    • With the exception of the 1983 Ash Wednesday fire in Australia, the remaining large outdoor fires occurred between 2010-2021.
    • Similar to the previous report and the development of the database, the goals are to:
    • Collect details of fire incidents including evacuation from different continents
    • Provide a comprehensive fire evacuation scenario database for large outdoor fires
    • Strengthen the understanding of the evacuation process and policies in large outdoor fires
    • Provide lessons and references for subsequent evacuation management
WUI fire risk mitigation in Europe: A performance-based design approach at home-owner level
  • Keyword: Case Study, Fire Modeling, Building Standards, Fire Spread, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Greece, France, Europe
  • Authors: P. Vacca, D. Caballero, E. Pastor, and E. Planas
  • Published: December 2020 in Journal of Safety Science and Resilience
  • Key takeaways:
    • This study discusses the use of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling for a performance-based design (PBD) analysis and scenario development to analyze the vulnerabilities of structures in the WUI.
    • Case studies of several WUI fires in Europe are used to document lessons learned and develop potential fire scenarios to which PBD could be applied. In southern Europe, residences are generally made of non-combustible materials, but fires can spread to the interior through glazing failures, roofing/gutters, secondary structures, vents or other openings and gaps.
    • These four mechanisms for fire spread offer opportunities to use PBD to evaluate fire conditions and performance of the building envelope.
    • A WUI fire scenario is developed using Fire Dynamic Simulator to evaluate the potential performance of a glazing system.
Role of firebrand combustion in large outdoor fire spread
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Firebrands/Ember, Informal Settlements, Case Study
  • Location: Japan, Asia, United States, North America
  • Authors: S. L. Manzello, S. Suzuki, M. J. Gollner, and A. C. Fernandez-Pello
  • Published: September 2021 in Progress in Energy and Combustion Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • The paper conducts a literature review and summarizes the role of firebrands/embers on fire spread in large outdoor fires.
    • Firebrand generation, transport, and ignition of fuels (vegetation or structure) by firebrands are explained, based on experiments and field studies in the United States and Japan.
    • A mathematical theory to predict ignition from hot metal particles is explained. This theory may be applicable to ignition from firebrands.
Streamlined wildland-urban interface fire tracing (SWUIFT): Modeling wildfire spread in communities
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Case Study, Fire Modeling
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: N. Masoudvaziri, F. Szasdi Bardales, O. K. Keskin, A. Sarreshtehdari, K. Sun, and N. Elhami-Khorasani
  • Published: January 2020 in Environmental Modelling & Software
  • Key takeaways:
    • Fire spread models used for post-earthquake scenarios to model structure-to-structure fire spread typically underestimate WUI fire spread.
    • Based on the documented fire spread for 9 WUI fires, a fire spread model is validated against those 9 wildfires.
    • The quasi-empirical model (SWUIFT), which includes radiation and embers in fire spread is proposed. The fire spread rate from case studies: the 2007 Witch and Guejirto fires in Texas and the 2017 Tubbs fire in California, which have different community configurations and fire behavior from the 9 fires previously analyzed, are calculated.
Methodology for the analysis of structural vulnerability of WUI settlements
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Fire Management, Fire Service, Structural Hardening
  • Location: Spain, Europe
  • Authors: P. Vacca, A. Àgueda, E. Planas, D. Caballero, and E. Pastor
  • Published: October 2023 in Fire Safety Journal
  • Key takeaways:
    • The paper proposes a Structural Vulnerability Index (SVI) to evaluate the fire risk of areas based on three phases of wildland fire exposure (pre-impact, impact, and fire transfer).
    • The SVI is based on 10 indicators: Fine fuel coverage, Impact of the main flame front, Complexity of topography, Global vegetation continuity, Global friction, Fire brigade response time, Water points, Fire breaks, and Vulnerable infrastructure.
    • The relative weight of the factors was determined based on group discussions. The roundtable discussion included members of the fire service, other WUI stakeholders, and the authors.
    • A case study of 9 WUI neighborhoods in Barcelona, Spain is provided. Based on the results of the SVI, specific risk mitigation measures are recommended for the factors contributing the most to the vulnerability analysis for 4 neighborhoods with the highest SVI.
Evaluating dynamic wildfire evacuation trigger buffers using the 2003 Cedar Fire
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Fire Modeling
  • Location: United States, North America 
  • Authors: J. C. Larsen, P. E. Dennison, T. J. Cova, and C. Jones
  • Published: January 2011 in Applied Geography
  • Key takeaways:
    • The 2003 Cedar Fire in southern California was used to compare the evacuation trigger buffers created by the evacuation model WUIVAC to the fire spread of the Cedar Fire.
    • WUIVAC uses FLAMMAP to create the fire rate and direction of fire spread, based on wind speed and direction, fuel type, fuel moisture, slope, and aspect. However, while FLAMMAP can model fire spread within model raster cells, it cannot model the spread of fire from cell to cell. Therefore, the authors also used the FARSITE fire spread model, which can model spread to adjacent cells, using data from the Cedar Fire and documented environmental and geographic conditions.
    • Evacuation trigger buffers of 1, 2, and 3 hours were calculated within WUIVAC and compared to the actual Cedar Fire spread data and the fire spread calculated by FARSITE.
    • WUIEVAC’s trigger buffers closely matched those of the actual fire spread and FARSITE’s fire spread. Retrospectively, if used operationally, the model may have underpredicted the fire spread, thus providing a small amount of additional evacuation time.
Integrating wildfire spread and evacuation times to design safe triggers: Application to two rural communities using PERIL model
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Fire Modeling, Human Behavior
  • Location: United Kingdom, United States, North America, Europe 
  • Authors: H. Mitchell, S. Gwynne, E. Ronchi, N. Kalogeropoulos, and G. Rein
  • Published: January 2023 in Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • PERIL (Population Evacuation tRIgger aLgorithm) is a tool used to create evacuation trigger boundaries, based on wildfire spread data. The FARSITE fire spread model is the fire spread model used for this paper. PERIL is a tool that connects evacuation modeling with fire spread modeling and thus is a part of the WUI-NITY model.
    • A case study of evacuations in Roxborough Park, Colorado and Swinley forest in Berkshire, England was conducted, as they had been previously analyzed for fire spread and evacuation modeling.
    • The potential impact of fire spread negatively impacting evacuation routes was not considered in the two case studies, but could be evaluated in future research.
    • WUIEVAC’s trigger buffers closely matched those of the actual fire spread and FARSITE’s fire spread. Retrospectively, if used operationally, the model may have underpredicted the fire spread, thus providing a small amount of additional evacuation time.
    • In Roxborough Park, PERIL was successful in connecting the fire spread and evacuation models for the hypothetical scenario, to develop trigger boundaries.
    • Trigger boundaries do not consider the human behavior elements of pre-evacuation decision making and time.
The simulation of urban-scale evacuation scenarios with application to the Swinley forest fire
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Fire Modeling, Human Behavior
  • Location: United Kingdom, Europe 
  • Authors: Anand Veeraswamy, Edwin R. Galea, Lazaros Filippidis, Peter J. Lawrence, Simo Haasanen, Robert J. Gazzard, Thomas E.L. Smith
  • Published: February 2018 in Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • In May 2011, a forest fire developed in Swinley, Berkshire England. In addition to residences and businesses, the area had high security research and hospital facilities.
    • The building evacuation software EXODUS has been expanded to be capable of simulating large-scale evacuation of hundreds of thousands and large geographical area. EXODUS modeled the Swinley area, including buildings, roads, and open spaces.
    • Four scenarios which varied the evacuation procedures and routes were analyzed.
    • The research recommends educating the community on evacuation procedures, providing timely evacuation orders, and recommending routes which avoid the fire front (even if to do so makes the safer evacuation route longer).
Roxborough Park Community Wildfire Evacuation Drill: Data Collection and Model Benchmarking
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Fire Modeling, Human Behavior
  • Location: United States, North America 
  • Authors: Steve M. V. Gwynne, Enrico Ronchi, Jonathan Wahlqvist, Arturo Cuesta, Javier Gonzalez Villa, Erica D. Kuligowski, Amanda Kimball, Guillermo Rein, Max Kinateder, Noureddine Benichou, Hui Xi
  • Published: 08 February 2023 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A community-wide evacuation drill of Roxborough Park, Colorado was performed in 2019. Over 130 households registered to participate. They were divided into 3 geographic groups and provided information on three potential evacuation routes. Staff monitored evacuation routes and collected surveys after the drill. This data set was used for this research.
    • Two models were applied to the evacuation exercise: WUI-NITY and Evacuation Management System (EMS). WUI-NITY is a macroscopic model, while EMS is a microscopic model.
    • Nine scenarios were simulated in both models, compared to each other, and cross referenced to the collected data
    • For both models in, pre-evacuation time was the key variable in the scenarios. WUI-NITY does not include pre-evacuation time, so it therefore underestimates the total evacuation time. EMS can account for pre-evacuation time.
    • Each model requires different assumptions and thus outputs vary based on the different evacuation modeling approaches.
    • The scenarios and data set included small number of participants, so road traffic and evacuation route selection were not as important for this rural community. In other communities and evacuations they may prove more important variables.
Data collection in wildfire evacuation drills
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Community Wildfire Protection Plans
  • Location: United States, North America 
  • Funding Type: National Research Council of Canada
  • Authors: Ann-Kristin Dugstad, Maxine Berthiaume, Enrico Ronchi, Noureddine Bénichou, Paul Geoerg, Steve Gwynne, Hui Xie, Kamryn Kubose-Peutz, Amanda Kimball, Max Kinateder
  • Published: 11 December 2024 by Lund University, Department of Fire Safety Engineering
  • Key takeaways:
    • A second evacuation drill in Roxborough Park, Colorado was conducted 5 years after the first one documented in other research and papers, in June 2024.
    • This paper describes the quantitative and qualitative methods used to collect data during the evacuation drill, including observation, drones, traffic counters, and a dedicated smartphone application, which were employed to record data.
    • The evacuation drill included 128 households and 177 vehicles registered to participate. To also participate in the research (i.e. complete surveys and postcards with demographics and pre-evacuation movement questions), participants needed to “opt-in", to protect participant privacy.
Wildfire Egress Model and Simulation Platform
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling, Case Study, Fire Modeling, Human Behavior
  • Location: United States, North America 
  • Authors: M. Pishahang, E. Droguett, M. Ramos, and A. Mosleh
  • Published: 5 April 2022 by The B John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences, University of California Los Angeles
  • Key takeaways:
    • Pacific Gas & Electric sponsored a project to develop a WUI evacuation planning and decision making model, Wildfire Safe Egress (WISE) Platform.WISE integrates a human decision model, traffic model, and wildfire fire dynamic model to estimate the probability of safe evacuation of a community.
    • Any fire spread model can be used with the WISE Platform. The human decision model includes an Evacuation Decision Time and Mobilization Time, incorporating social vulnerabilities from U.S. Census data and time “penalties” for certain demographics. The traffic model uses a routing algorithm “pgRouting” to connect road segments into an evacuation route.
    • Available Safe Egress Time (based on fire spread model) is compared to Required Safe Egress Time (based on traffic and human behavior models).
    • The model was validated against data from the 2018 Camp Fire in California. FLAMMAP was used to estimate fire spread.
Geospatial based Environment for Optimisation Systems Addressing Fire Emergencies (GEO-SAFE)
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Evacuation Modeling,Case Study, Fire Modeling
  • Location: Spain, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Oceania 
  • Authors: Veeraswamy, Anand, Galea, Edwin R., P. Lawrence, D. M. Gallego, and D. Blackshields
  • Published: 29 April 2020 by University of Greenwich
  • Key takeaways:
    • The research model (GEO-SAFE) combines the wildfire model with the pedestrian evacuation model urbanEXODUS and the vehicle evacuation Model SUMO. The use of the pedestrian model urbanExodus is unique, as it can simulate pedestrians moving on foot to private vehicles or to public transportation in urban or suburban areas, or to simulate the movement of those who abandon vehicles and proceed on foot.
    • To account for varied terrain and the potential impact on pedestrian speed, importing Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data into the urbanEXODUS evacuation model was important. The terrain of Greenwich, England was successfully used as a case study to import terrain data and model pedestrian movement in terrain.
    • Two hypothetical evacuation scenarios were validated by GEO-SAFE. The first location was the Ruidera Natural Park in the region of Castilla La Mancha, Spain which had previously been evaluated for wildfire spread using the Wildfire Analyst model. Only a pedestrian evacuation model was used in this case study.
    • The second location was Marysville, Australia, which combined both pedestrian and vehicle evacuations, with a fire spread model using PHOENIX.
Modelling of wildland-urban interface fire spread with the heterogeneous cellular automata model
  • Keyword: Case Study, Fire Modeling
  • Location: United States, North America 
  • Authors: Wenyu Jiang, Fei Wang, Linghang Fang, Xiaocui Zheng, Xiaohui Qiao, Zhanghua Li, Qingxiang Meng
  • Published: January 2021 in Environmental Modelling & Software
  • Key takeaways:
    • The most common fire spread models are not yet able to model the transition from a forest fire to a structure-to-structure fire in the WUI areas.
    • This paper propose a heterogeneous cellular automata model to simulate fire spread from forest to urban areas. The model accounts for fire-resistant construction.
    • A case study comparing the heterogeneous cellular automata model to FARSITE for a fire in Getty, California which occurred in October 2019, is presented.
    • Both FARSITE and the heterogeneous cellular automata model produced fire spread models similar to that observed for the Getty fire, but FARSITE’s computational runs took 20 times longer than that of the heterogeneous cellular automata model to calculate.
WUINITY: a platform for the simulation of wildland urban interface fire evacuation
Assessing Wildland Fire Risk Transmission to Communities in Northern Spain
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Modeling, Fire Service
  • Location: Spain, Europe 
  • Authors: F. Alcasena, M. Salis, A. Ager, R. Castell, and C. Vega-García
  • Published: 24 January 2017 in Forests
  • Key takeaways:
    • This study used fire modeling to assess WUI risk in Navarra, northern Spain.
    • The fire spread simulations used FLAMMAP to conduct the fire modeling, using the outputs of burn probability and flame length probability. By simulating 50,000 fire events, fire exposure was estimated based on historical fire weather conditions.
    • Fires from the south were calculated to be larger than those from the north, a function of topography and fuels.
    • The average monetary value of residential damages and loss was estimated at 7,955 Euros, ranging from 740 to 28,725 Euros.
    • Interviews with the fire service (Bomberos de Navarra) in northern Spain was used to evaluate the risks to structure from different WUI fire intensities, based on participants’ experience with WUI fires, which was incorporated into the model.
Evaluating wildfire vulnerability of Mediterranean dwellings using fuzzy logic applied to expert judgement
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Building Standards, Case Study
  • Location: Spain, Greece Europe 
  • Authors: A. Àgueda, P. Vacca, E. Planas, and E. Pastor
  • Published: 6 June 2023 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • A Vulnerability Assessment Tool (VAT) based on a fault tree, is proposed for Mediterranean WUI microscale for homeowners and residents.
    • The VAT is a checklist, which also provides probability of fire entrance and critical vulnerabilities that should be prioritized in mitigation efforts. The probability of fire entrance is based on expert judgements and the application of fuzzy logic to combine expert judgements.
    • Fires from the south were calculated to be larger than those from the north, a function of topography and fuels.
    • The average monetary value of residential damages and loss was estimated at 7,955 Euros, ranging from 740 to 28,725 Euros.
    • The VAT is validated by analyzing two fire events in Spain (2021 Lloret de Mar and 2022 El Pont de Vilomara). Homeowners impacted by both fires were interviewed to "score" their residences prior to the fires using the VAT.
    • The VAT is also compared to the Physical Vulnerability Index (PVI) developed based on data from the 2018 Mati, Greece fire.
Factors influencing defensible ember accumulation near a building
  • Keyword: Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Insurance Institute for Building & Home Safety, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: None Identified 
  • Authors: S. L. Quarles, C. Standohar-Alfano, F. Hedayati, and D. J. Gorham
  • Published:28 February 2023 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • Full-scale testing at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) wind tunnel facility was conducted to investigate how structure geometry affects ember accumulation and thus potential for ignition.
    • The target structure was rotated for experiments at various wind speeds to create different angles and geometry for potential recirculating air eddies and ember accumulation.
    • Building geometry (flat walls and re-entrant corners), angle of wind relative to building, and the surface characteristics (such as rough mulch or smooth deck) of the horizontal landscape were found to influence ember accumulation.
FEMA Preparedness Toolkit: Exercise Starter Kit - Wildfire Evacuation
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Resources/li>
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Published: July 2025
  • Link: FEMA Exercise Starter Kits
  • Key takeaways:
    • An "Exercise Starter Kit" with boilerplate documents were developed (instructor guides, presentations, exercise planning/scenario development). The intent is that communities would be able to use the documents to more effectively conduct wildfire evacuation tabletop exercises.
    • The kit includes 5 Modules: 1) Firewatch 2) Ready, Set, Go 3) Reentry and Return 4) Rapid Growth 5) Refuge
    • The first three modules align with a wildland fire scenario with notice before an evaucation and time for the community to prepare to evacuate, while the last two modules are for scenarios with no notice due to rapid fire growth and the need to shelter.
The Contributions of Fire Engineering in Addressing the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Problem [White Paper]
  • Keyword: Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Fire Modeling, Evacuation Modeling, Building Standards, Structure Fire, Fire Behavior, Fire Dynamics, Wildland Evacuation, Pedestrians, Traffic, Human Behavior, Resources, Wildland Fire Management, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: North America, Europe, Oceania, Canada, United States, France, Spain, Portugal, Australia 
  • Authors: Pascale Vacca
  • Published: July 2025 by SFPE Foundation WUI Working Group
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Funded
  • Key takeaways:
    • This White Paper is the result of work initiated by the SFPE Foundation's WUI Working Group to identify the contributions of fire engineers in identifying and address WUI fire risks, as well as identify knowledge gaps where fire engineers can contribute solutions.
    • The White Paper is structured to evaluate worldwide WUI standards, resources, WUI fire spread and evacuation models, risk assessment methodologies, and identify critical needs of three topics:
    • Individual Asset Protection
    • Community Evacuation & Notification
    • Community Wildland Fire Protection
Maui Wildfire Investigation Resources Page
  • Keyword: Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources, Wildland Fire Management, Building Standards, Fire Spread, Urban Planning, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Structure Fire, Fire Safety Research Institute, FSRI Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: State of Hawaii, Department of the Attorney General
  • Authors: Fire Safety Research Institute
  • Link: State of Hawaii, Department of the Attorney General Maui Wildfire Investigation Resources Page
  • Link: FSRI Maui Wildfires Analysis
  • Key takeaways:
    • The State of Hawaii, Department of the Attorney General contracted with the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), to provide a review of the August 2023 Lahaina fire. FSRI developed three reports:
    • 1) Phase 1-Incident Timeline Report, published April 17, 2024, documents events, weather, preparedness activities, and for the four fires that occurred on August 8 and 9, 2023 on Maui, creating a detailed timeline that forms the basis of subsequent reports.
    • 2) Phase 2-Incident Analysis Report, published September 13, 2024, builds on the Phase 1 report, using a system analysis methodology, FSRI’s fire research, and industry standards to identify key findings and recommendations. Of the 4 fires that occurred on Maui in August 2023, the Lahaina fire is the focus of the report.
    • 3) Phase 3-Forward Looking Report, published January 14, 2025, identifies priorities for the state and local authorities to improve wildfire preparation and response, including a discussion of building codes and standards.
    • Additional documentation is available on the State of Hawaii website.
Analyzing Risk Perception, Evacuation Decision and Delay Time: A Case Study of the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Ana Forrister, Erica D. Kuligowski, Yuran Sun, Xiang Yan, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Thomas J. Cova, Xilei Zhao
  • Published: April 2024 in Travel Behaviour and Society
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the December 30, 2021 Marshall Fire near Boulder, Colorado, a voluntary survey of 191 individuals was conducted to better understand factors influencing evacuation decisions, perception of risk and the influence of risk on evacuation decisions, and factors that influence delay times.
    • Risk perception was dependent upon pre-fire awareness and pre- fire risk perception level, age, income, and gender.
    • Evacuation decision making factors were dependent upon pre-fire risk perception level, household income level, having a medical condition, and observing fire cues.
    • Delays in evacuation were dependent upon awareness and preparation time, prior damage experience, home ownership, household size, and children.
Social Vulnerabilities and Wildfire Evacuations: A Case Study of the 2019 Kincade Fire
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Yuran Sun, Ana Forrister, Erica D. Kuligowski, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Thomas J. Cova, Xilei Zhao
  • Published: August 2024 in Safety Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • Using aggregated census data for areas surrounding the 2019 Kincade Fire in California and anonymized GPS data from mobile phone users, an analysis of the impact of social vulnerability on evacuation decisions was conducted.
    • Non-white populations were less likely to evacuate. For non-whites who did evacuate, there did not appear to be a significant impact on delay time or evacuation distance attributable to race or ethnicity.
    • Lower poverty populations were less likely to evacuate, with lower income individuals traveling shorter evacuation distances when they did choose to evacuate.
    • Unemployed individuals, those with disabilities, and those responsible for children experienced longer evacuation delays.
Using Artificial Intelligence for Safe and Effective Wildfire Evacuations
  • Keyword: Case Study, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Machine Learning Models
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors: Zhao, X., Lovreglio, R., Kuligowski, E
  • Published: March 2021 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Choice engineering-based evacuation models can be used to evaluate factors affecting human behavior, which in turn influence traffic models.
    • Using artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of WUI modeling presents an opportunity to combine advanced algorithms with AI trained on wildfire evacuation data including gps, traffic data, wildfire damage, and surveys, to generate predictions for choice models and then simplify simulations of traffic models.
Evacuation Simulation under Threat of Wildfire—An Overview of Research, Development, and Knowledge Gaps
  • Keyword: Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Traffic
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors: Shahab Mohammad Beyki, Aldina Santiago , Luís Laím, and Hélder D. Craveiro
  • Published: 21 August 2023 in Applied Sciences
  • Key takeaways:
    • This paper conducts a literature review of recent research on wildland evacuations and WUI evacuation modeling. The goal of the literature review was to identify seminal works and identify knowledge gaps in the field.
    • The authors identified 4 components in the ideal evacuation model: 1) pedestrian evacuation modeling (Trip Generation), 2) pedestrian sheltering (Destination), 3) evacuation transportation (Mode Choice), and 4) traffic modeling (evacuation routes selection).
    • The paper discusses the knowledge gaps including incorporating decision-making into models, lack of data on evacuation behavior, incomplete assumptions by users and models themselves, lack of consideration of the impact of wildfire behavior on evacuation, and the applicability of evacuation software developed for other purposes/scenarios to wildfire.
A methodology for assessing wildfire hazard in Sweden – The first step towards a multi-hazard assessment method
A review of post-incident studies for wildland-urban interface fires
  • Keyword: Case Study
  • Location: Australia, Oceania, United States, Canada, North America
  • Authors: Gaudet, B., Simeoni, A., Gwynne, S., Kuligowski, E., Benichou, N.
  • Published: December 2022 in Journal of Safety Science and Resilience
  • Key takeaways:
    • The paper conducts a review of 17 technical reports of natural disasters (WUI fires, hurricanes, tornados) in the United States, Canada, and Australia. In addition, staff involved in various case-studies of the disasters were interviewed in order to compile lessons learned for the on-site data collection for WUI fire incidents.
    • The 3 stages of WUI case studies are identified 1) Planning and initiating a research study 2) Deployment and data collection 3) Post-deployment processing.
    • Five main areas of data collection for WUI fire studies were identified:
    • 1) Spatio-temporal Fire Progression
    • 2) Weather, Topography, and Wildland
    • 3) Response of Structures, Land Parcels and Community Layout to the Fire
    • 4) Human and Community Response to the Fire
    • 5) Emergency Response
Assessing wildfire risk to critical infrastructure in central Chile: application to an electrical substation
  • Keyword: Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location: Chile, South America
  • Authors: Severino, G, Fuentes, A, Valdivia, A, Auat Cheein, F & Reszka, P
  • Published: 4 April 2024 in International Journal of Wildland Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • Critical infrastructure such as electrical substations and power lines are vulnerable to wildfires. Transformer explosions, power line tripping or failure, current leakage from soot accumulation in insulators, preventive shutdowns, or transmission interruptions due to aerial application of fire retardant are some of the potential hazards.
    • A quantitative risk analysis of an electrical substation in Valparaiso, Chile was conducted. This may be the first parcel-level quantitative risk analysis published for WUI fire risk in Chile.
    • FlamMap was used to estimate burn probability and fireline intensity of a WUI fire approaching the electrical substation. Two WUI fire scenarios were selected for additional quantitative risk analysis.
The Great Valparaiso Fire and Fire Safety Management in Chile
  • Keyword: Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Wildland Fire Management, Fire Service, Building Standards, Wildland Evacuation, Informal Settlements
  • Location: Chile, South America
  • Authors: Reszka, P., Fuentes, A.
  • Published: 9 August 2014 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A wildfire on April 12, 2014 in the hills above Valparaiso destroyed 2,900 homes, with 6,000 people were evacuated, but there were 15 fatalities.
    • This letter to the editor of Fire Technology offers perspective on the fire, where a lack of building standard enforcement and informal settlements, led to rapid fire spread between structures and vegetation. Insufficient urban planning for access roads (which were often the only evacuation path) and lack of water infrastructure limited fire service response.
    • The letter highlights the need for additional fire safety engineers in Chile and the implementation of modern building codes and regulations.
Should we leave now? Behavioral factors in evacuation under wildfire threat
  • Keyword: Human Behavior, Wildland Evacuation, Case Study
  • Location: Australia, Oceania, United States, Canada, North America
  • Authors: McLennan J, Ryan B, Bearman C, Toh K
  • Published: 17 July 2018 in Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • A literature review was narrowed to 27 papers published in English between 2005 and 2017 discussing empirical information on human behavior and response to WUI fires risks. Two of the papers were from Canada, six from United States, and 19 papers from Australia. Results were grouped by country due to differing evacuation policies between the countries.
    • Based on the literature review the paper summarizes the decision making as a continuum of five stages, with evacuation potentially delayed during steps 2, 3, and 4:
    • 1) Receiving a WUI evacuation alert;
    • 2) Determining source credibility and confirming threat;
    • 3) Determine personal impact of the threat;
    • 4) Evaluating whether protective action is necessary and seeking additional information;
    • 5) Deciding upon potential action(s).
    • The paper intended the literature review of human behavior in response to WUI fire threats to influence the development of evacuation models and to educate agencies to better understand and the dissemination better quality information to encourage the public’s decision to evacuate.
NIST Technical Note 2341 - NIST Eave and Vent Experiments (EaVE) EaVEs Phase A
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Building Standards
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Christopher U. Brown, Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Giovanni Di Cristina, D. Michelle Bailey, Lucy Fox, Eric Link, Selvarajah Ramesh, J. Houston Miller, Erin E. McCaughey, Monica M. Flores
  • Published: June 2025 by NIST TN 2341
  • Key takeaways:
    • WUI building codes typically require that vents resist intrusion of flame and embers, when tested in accordance with ASTM 2886 (Standard Test Method for Evaluating the Ability of Exterior Vents to Resist the Entry of Embers and Direct Flame Impingement) for a fire exposure of 300 kW. The test standard does not take into account direct flame impingement or ember exposure combined with radiant heat, as typically potentially experienced during a WUI fire.
    • The EaVE experimental series analyzes additional fire exposure conditions and the subsequent performance of eaves and vents when exposed to conditions mimicking an auxiliary structure fire adjacent to a residence, exposing the eaves and vents to higher fire exposures (1.5MW-2.5MW) than ASTM 2886.
    • This series of experiments confirmed previous findings that heat fluxes above 15 kW/m2 for at least 5 minutes result in glowing ignition of eaves. Lower heat fluxes or shorter exposure to high heat fluxes did not result in eave ignition. Glowing eave ignition was observed before transitioning to flaming eave ignition.
    • Three vent types were tested. Two vent types used intumescent paint coating an aluminum honeycomb structure with a metal casing with a fine metal mesh. The third vent type uses intumescent coated baffles that activate to close the vent opening. During test conditions the vents relying on intumescent paint to create a char over a honeycomb did not form a complete char, allowing flame and heat penetration. The vent with the intumescent baffle successfully closed during the test conditions, preventing the spread of flames and heat through the vent.
    • Additional commercially available vents will be evaluated under similar test conditions in future tests.
NIST Technical Note 2307 - Wind-Driven Fire Spread to a Structure from Landscape Timbers
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Fire Spread, Defensible Space, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Christopher U. Brown, Alexander Maranghides, Shonali Nazare, Giovanni Di Cristina, D. Michelle Bailey, Lucy Fox, Eric Link, Selvarajah Ramesh, J. Houston Miller, Erin E. McCaughey, Monica M. Flores
  • Published: April 2025 by NIST TN 2307
  • Key takeaways:
    • Landscape timbers are a potential fire spread pathway in the WUI. They are frequently used as retaining walls or to create garden borders or raised garden beds. A series of outdoor experiments were conducted to better understand the potential of fire spread from three types of landscape timbers in various configurations, under wind conditions, to a target structure.
    • During most of the 16 experiments, spot fires and firebrand/embers were generated downwind of the burning landscape timbers, igniting hardwood mulch at the base of the target structure. As observed in previous fence and mulch experiments, higher wind speeds generally increased fire spread rates.
    • Thin landscape timbers resulted in faster fire spread rate than the two larger landscape timbers. Mulch adjacent to the thin and medium landscape timbers also impacted fire spread rates, but did not impact fire spread along the thicker railroad ties.
    • Landscape timbers represent a challenge to firefighting efforts, as it may take a significant amount of effort to extinguish fires, with deep seated fires smoldering for a long time, leading to eventual reignition and fire spread, long after the initial threat of fire spread has passed.
    • The rough, cracked, uneven surface of railroad ties created a good surface for fire growth and spread, while the rounded corners of the thin timbers created long cavities that helped fire spread. Additional research is needed to evaluate other landscape timber shapes before one could be recommended.
    • The report identified 14 Key Findings, 7 Primary Recommendations, and 5 Recommendations for future work, some of which overlap with previous experiments in this series.
NIST Technical Note 1748 - Framework for Addressing the National Wildland Urban Interface Fire Problem – Determining Fire and Ember Exposure Zones using a WUI Hazard Scale
  • Keyword: Structural Hardening, Defensible Space, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Structure Fire
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Alexander Maranghides, William Mell
  • Published: January 2013 by NIST TN 1748
  • Key takeaways:
    • This paper proposes a WUI hazard severity assessment system that considers sources of ignition as well as local conditions (FTLW - Fuels, Topography, and Local Weather). The WUI-scale seeks to connect ignition resistance requirements for a structure’s exposure to 1) embers and 2) fire exposure (from radiation and direct flame contact).
    • Four ember exposure zones (E-zone), four fire exposure zones (F-Zone), and four building construction and landscape classes (WUI-class) are defined. A matrix of required structural hardening and defensible space mitigation actions is proposed.
    • Both new, existing, and post-WUI fire reconstruction communities could be evaluated using the WUI Hazard scale.
    • The paper acknowledges the additional research needed to better understand ember generation/exposure, which contributed to NIST’s development of firebrand/ember experiments and research.
NIST Technical Note 1894 - Effects of Wind Speed and Angle on Fire Spread along Privacy Fences
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Structure Fire
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Erik L. Johnsson, Alexander Maranghides
  • Published: July 2016 by NIST TN 1894
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report focuses on the role of wind (at speeds of 9, 13, and 18 meters/second) and the angle of the wind (0, 45, and 90 degrees) on the fire spread along privacy fences of red cedar, redwood, and vinyl.
    • A bed of mulch was used as the source of fence ignition. For the wood fences, the mulch was instrumental in fire spread, but the type of wood did not significantly impact fire spread. For the vinyl fences, fire spread behavior was very different with no visible exterior fire spread (and ultimately the vinyl melting when heated.
    • Perpendicular wind had the least fire spread, as anticipated. Wind speed and wind angle was inconsistent in determining (and repeating) worst case configurations. Fire spread on the structural side was quicker than on the smooth side of the fence.
    • Many lessons learned in configuring the experiment and the use of a airboat fan to generate the wind conditions, and need to “straighten” the wind flow, will help with future NIST experiments of fire spread methods.
National Wildfire Activity
  • Keyword: U.S. Fire Administration, Resources
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Link: National Wildfire Activity
  • Key takeaways:
    • The website hosts National Wildfire Activity dashboards providing geographical information on wildfire activity over the past 7-days and historical wildfires over the past 10 years from the FEMA Response Geospatial Office, plus a link to a geographic dashboard of federal interagency wildfire status maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves
  • Keyword: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, National Fire Protection Association, International Code Council, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Building Standards, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Authors: National Institute of Building Sciences
  • Published: 1 December 2019
  • Link: 1 December 2019 by Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2019 Report
  • Link: 1 December 2019 by Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves Factsheet
  • Key takeaways:
    • Previous editions of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves reports were funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, International Code Council, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, and National Fire Protection Association.
    • The report estimates the cost-benefit ratio for five natural hazards including WUI fires.
    • Building in accordance with the 2015 International WUI Code (IWUIC) had a calculated cost-benefit ratio of 1:4, retrofitting buildings 1:2, and federal grants 1:3.
    • Of the 47, 870 census blocks, 10,000 of them (21%) have a cost-benefit ratio of more than 1:1 for the implementation of IWUIC. Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories were excluded from the study, because of a lack of published hazard data.
    • There is a map of the contiguous United States which shows that 761 counties of the 48 states (24% of counties) and 33 of the states (69% of states) have at least a portion with BCR > 1. Some geographic areas had a cost-benefit ratio of up to 1:15 for implementation of IWUIC for new construction.
ON FIRE: The Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission
  • Keyword: Resources, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Evacuation, Fire Service, Building Standards, Structure Fire, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Published: 27 September 2023 by Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission
  • Key takeaways:
    • The U.S. Congress established the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Commission’s 50-member developed 148 policy recommendations covering wildfire mitigation, management, and post-fire rehabilitation and recovery.
    • A few of the recommendations related to the fire engineering community focus on the built environment, water contamination, health impacts of smoke, evacuation, and training for non-federal fire service:
    • #6. Encourage and reward innovation in the fields of affordable building material design, subdivision design, landscape architecture, and safe and sustainable building practices to create more ignition-resistant structures and communities.
    • #34-38, #40-44, and #100 impacts of wildfires and WUI fires on water infrastructure and public health from smoke.
    • #45. Local entities should be empowered and supported federally to utilize the best available technology to develop a consistent method or methods for evacuation.
    • #46. Congress should direct that a national standard of evacuation terminology and product type per the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Common Alerting Protocol be established and utilized for fire purposes. This product should include the use of “Ready, Set, Go!” terminology and be supported with national communications products.
    • #56. Congress should increase support for the U.S. Fire Administration to provide expanded community-based wildfire training and engagement of the nation’s non-federal fire service; promote fire-adapted communities to build community resilience; and improve coordination with wildland fire management as a critical and necessary partner in wildfire risk reduction.
Gaps, Priorities, and Entities with Equities in Wildland Fire Science and Technology
  • Keyword: Wildland Fire Management, Fire Modeling, Fire Behavior, Fire Service, Wildland Evacuation, Machine Learning Models, Urban Planning, Building Standards, Fire Spread, Resources, Human Behavior
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Miller, Rebecca Katherine, Kirk, Hannah L.
  • Published: 2024 by Institute for Defense Analysis Science & Technology Policy Institute
  • Key takeaways:
    • Recommendation 110 from ON FIRE: The Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission discusses identifying research and science gaps and priorities. This report reviews eight reports published between 2014 and 2023 to identify WUI fire science and technology gaps.
    • The gaps related to fire engineering are:
    • Fire Behavior Modeling – Incorporating fuels from built environment in WUI fire models, assessing WUI fire behavior models, incorporating machine learning models and 3-D into fire models, and improve understanding of fire spread behavior, heat transfer and incorporation into fire models.
    • Ignition-Resistant Construction – Researching spread from the WUI to structures, document risk-mitigation technologies and techniques, develop wildfire resistant building materials, create incentives to spur innovation by architects, engineers, designers, and planners in developing ignition resistant design.
    • Codes and Standards – Implement and improve ignition resistant codes and standards for new construction and retrofits, construct resilient critical infrastructure, and establish wildfire shelters standards.
    • Evacuations – Conduct research on evacuation decision making, improve evacuation models incorporating traffic, human behavior, safety areas, and evacuation routes.
    • Physical Health – Research chemical composition of smoke from WUI fires.
External Sprinklers for Wildfire Defense [White Paper]
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Building Standards, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America, Australia, Oceania
  • Published: November 2024 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Wildfire Research
  • Key takeaways:
    • This White Paper concludes that active fire suppression is no substitute for passive mitigation strategies (structural hardening and defensible space), given the limited knowledge regarding external sprinkler systems.
    • There is no U.S. standard for external sprinklers for use in WUI fires. Australia has Bushfire water spray systems
    • Installation in a wildfire/wildland fire environment would need to consider activation, duration of operation, potential for extreme heat exposure to sprinkler system components, an independent water source, and an independent power supply for a water pump.
    • More research is needed regarding the operation of an external sprinkler system, especially under wind conditions which can disperse water droplets inconsistently reducing their effectiveness, while the wind simultaneously transport embers.
Vulnerability of Vents to Wind-Blown Embers
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Building Standards, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Stephen L. Quarles
  • Published: August 2017 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Wildfire Research
  • Link: Vulnerability of Vents to Wind-Blown Embers – Executive Summary
  • Link: Vulnerability of Vents to Wind-Blown Embers
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report tests three attic vents which were approved by the California Office of the State Fire Marshall as meeting State Fire Marshall’s standard test method, prior to the publication of ASTM 2886 in 2014.
    • Two configurations of under-eave inlet vents were used: 1) Soffited-eave and 2) Open-eave. Three types of outlet vents were used: 1) Gable end vent 2) Off-ridge vent and 3) Ridge vent.
    • The test scenario evaluated the ember-resistance of the approved attic vents. Flame resistance was not tested, though the California Building Code requires that vents resist flames, as well as embers.
    • Soffit-eave fire resistant vents performed better than Open-eave vents. The size and orientation of the Gable end vents meant they did not perform as well as the off-ridge and ridge vents.
Vulnerability of Decks to Embers and Flames
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Building Standards, Fire Spread, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Faraz Hedayati, Stephen L. Quarles, Christine Standohar-Alfano
  • Published: 24 July 2020 by Fire
  • Link: Ignition Potential of Decks Subjected to an Ember Exposure – Executive Summary
  • Link: Ignition Potential of Decks Subjected to an Ember Exposure
  • Link: Addendum Deck Ignition Testing
  • Link: The Ability of the Current ASTM Test Method to Evaluate the Performance of Deck Assemblies Under Realistic Wildfire Conditions Executive Summary
  • Link: The Ability of the Current ASTM Test Method to Evaluate the Performance of Deck Assemblies Under Realistic Wildfire Conditions
  • Key takeaways:
    • Decks constructed of combustible material can be ignited by embers or by flame impingement.
    • California Building Code Chapter 7A allows decks to be constructed of combustible materials, if they have been tested in accordance with State Fire Marshall test 12-7A-4A and ASTM E2632. The test methodology allows the test to be a small deck sample size, under zero wind conditions, and the structural support system is not considered. Decks are exposed only to under-deck flame impingement, not embers.
    • This study evaluated if SFM 12-7A-4A and ASTM E2632 are realistic at predicting deck material performance during ember exposure. The other parameters of the under-deck test (deck size, wind, joist support system) were further investigated.
    • Experiments demonstrated that the test methodology should be changed because 1) joists were a significant source of flame exposure to the deck and adjacent structure 2) Wind plays a significant role in WUI fires 3) a small test sample size ignores the role gaps between boards can play in flame spread. Gaps can allow embers to pass through to combustible materials below the deck and also can be where fine fuel materials can accumulate, increasing fire risk from ember exposure in a real-world event.
    • The report acknowledges that the process of changing the test standards to reflect the study’s observations and real-world conditions is potentially a long process. The report therefore recommends noncombustible deck surfaces for new construction and metal deck with no gap for retrofits (which would minimize the cost of changing a deck’s support system).
Fire-Retardant Coatings Used in Exterior Applications
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Stephen L. Quarles and Christine D. Standohar-Alfano
  • Published: 24 July 2020 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Wildfire Research
  • Link: Fire-Retardant Coatings Used in Exterior Applications – Executive Summary
  • Link: Fire-Retardant Coatings Used in Exterior Applications – Full Report
  • Key takeaways:
    • Five commercially available fire-retardant coating products for exterior use were evaluated. Four of the five were intumescent products. Three of the products were film-forming products and were tested for combustibility and coating thickness. Two products were penetrants (one intumescent, one non-intumescent). Uncoated specimens were the experiment’s control.
    • Manufacturers claimed that the products would retain their fire-retardant properties for up to 5 years. This study evaluated the fire-retardant properties of samples exposed to weathering impacts:
    • North and South orientation along fence at IBHS facility.
    • At 0, 3, 6, and 12 months, the thickness of the film-forming coating measured and samples visibly inspected.
    • At 0, 3, 6, and 12 months, samples burned in cone calorimeter tests in accordance with ASTM E1354-15 ( at 30, 50, and 70 kW/m2).
    • The report concluded that north vs south exposure did not impact performance. Most samples showed degradation (loss of gloss, crack, chips, flakes) with the first few months of exposure. None of the tested products provided fire resistance for an extended period when exposed to weathering, contrary to product claims.
Fire‐Retardant Gels
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Faraz Hedayati, Carolyn Stansell, Daniel Gorham, Stephen L. Quarles
  • Published: December 2018 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Wildfire Research
  • Link: Fire‐Retardant Gels: Effects of Weathering on Dehydration and Fire Performance – Executive Summary
  • Link: Fire‐Retardant Gels: Effects of Weathering on Dehydration and Fire Performance
  • Key takeaways:
    • Gels can provide a fire-resistance coating for a short period of time. This study investigated the impact of dehydration on the fire-resistance performance of two commercially available products.
    • Samples were weathered at 3 relative humidity setpoints: 15%, 40%, and 70% at 3 wind speeds: 0 m/s (no wind), 5 m/s (11 mph), 10 m/s (22 mph) to understand the dehydration rate of the gel. A realistic WUI fire could see 15% relative humidity and 10 m/s wind speed; both gels reached 50% hydration in 1.5 hours and were fully dehydrated in 7 hours.
    • Cone calorimeter tests were conducted to determine time to ignition using a fire exposure of 50 kw/m2 at three dehydration conditions: newly applied, 50% dehydration, and fully dehydrated, in comparison to untreated wood.
    • During the study, fully hydrated gel can increase ignition time from 15 seconds to 7 minutes, while at 50% hydration the time to ignition was 3-4 minutes.
Fire‐Retardant Gels
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Jacob Kadel, Faraz Hedayati, Stephen L. Quarles & Aixi Zhou
  • Published: 26 September 2020 by Fire Technology
  • Link: Fire‐Retardant Gels: Effects of Weathering on Dehydration and Fire Performance – Executive Summary
  • Link: Fire‐Retardant Gels: Effects of Weathering on Dehydration and Fire Performance
  • Key takeaways:
    • Gels can provide a fire-resistance coating for a short period of time. This study investigated the impact of dehydration on the fire-resistance performance of two commercially available products.
    • Samples were weathered at 3 relative humidity setpoints: 15%, 40%, and 70% at 3 wind speeds: 0 m/s (no wind), 5 m/s (11 mph), 10 m/s (22 mph) to understand the dehydration rate of the gel. A realistic WUI fire could see 15% relative humidity and 10 m/s wind speed; both gels reached 50% hydration in 1.5 hours and were fully dehydrated in 7 hours.
    • Cone calorimeter tests were conducted to determine time to ignition using a fire exposure of 50 kw/m2 at three dehydration conditions: newly applied, 50% dehydration, and fully dehydrated, in comparison to untreated wood.
    • During the study, fully hydrated gel can increase ignition time from 15 seconds to 7 minutes, while at 50% hydration the time to ignition was 3-4 minutes.
Near-Building Noncombustible Zone
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Jacob Kadel, Faraz Hedayati, Stephen L. Quarles & Aixi Zhou
  • Published: 26 September 2020 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report documents 174 full scale fire tests conducted to evaluate the potential exposure temperature at a target structure and along the ground, to evaluate the value of non-combustible zones of varying distance around a target structure.
    • The impact of wind perpendicular to the target structure and at 45 degrees (at a building corner) was analyzed. Flame height was taller with the 90-degree wind, which could increase radiative heating, while the 45-degree wind angled flames closer to the ground which could allow fire spread to combustible materials on the ground more easily.
    • The report concludes that a 0–5-foot noncombustible zone generally maintained temperatures at the target structure’s wall at less than 200 degrees Celsius and was therefore the minimum zone 0 distance that should be maintained with no combustible materials.
Black Bear Cub Fire
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Case Study, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Stephen Quarles, Leon Konz
  • Published: 3 February 2016 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research
  • Key takeaways:
    • On March 17, 2013, a fire started on the deck of a 2-level cabin in the Black Bear Ridge Resort in Sevier County, Tennessee, ultimately destroying 53 cabins and damaging another 20. The fire spread from structure-to-structure and structure-to-wildland, with spot fires downwind and across the valley.
    • IBHS conducted a case study to determine contributing factors of the fire spread structure-to-structure and compare applicable codes and standards, looking at the ICC’s IWUIC, California Building Code Chapter 7A, and NFPA 1144.
    • Radiant heat, often due to the small separation distances between adjacent cabins, was determined to be the primary source of fire spread, though embers also played a role in some ignitions.
    • The wood/log wall aesthetic on the exterior and interior of the cabins provided significant combustible fuel that burned for a long time.
    • The report recommends increasing the separation distance for new construction, but acknowledges that doing so may not be possible for rebuilding this community. Therefore, recommendations are made to address deficiencies noted in construction including 1) siding (replace with non-combustible materials), 2) windows (tempered glass per IWUIC and CBC Chapter 7A), and 3) decking (non-combustible materials and enclosing when a the slope is more than 10%).
    • Exterior (dry pipe) sprinklers of the deck could have potentially suppressed the initial fire, but water flow and availability for the site may not be adequate and were not fully addressed in the report.
California Wildfires of 2017 & 2018
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Case Study, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Published: 2024 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research
  • Link: 2017-18 California Wildfires – At A Glance (Executive Summary)
  • Link: IBHS Post-Event Investigation: California Wildfires of 2017 and 2018 – Full Technical Report
  • Key takeaways:
    • IBHS’s observations of the 2018 Camp Fire, where structures were destroyed, but vegetation was not completely burned, implied that fire spread was primarily via embers to structures, not via crown fires or continuous vegetation burning through community.
    • Structural hardening and defensible space maintenance did not guarantee structures survived the Camp Fire, however, those that did survive, generally did so as a result of structural hardening and defensible spaces.
    • The wood/log wall aesthetic on the exterior and interior of the cabins provided significant combustible fuel that burned for a long time.
    • On occasion, quick actions by the fire service early in the ignition of combustible materials (i.e. remove burning gutter from a home that had combustible material ignited by embers or knock down a wooden fence so that fire did not spread to the residence), was sufficient to spare the total loss of a structure. However, maintenance of defensible space could have also mitigated the first risk and need for intervention. IIBHS full scale testing demonstrating gutter and fence fires is correlated to the observations.
The 2023 Lahaina Conflagration
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Case Study, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Faraz Hedayati, Xareni Monroy, Evan Sluder, Hesam Fallahian, Milad Shabanian
  • Published: September 2024 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research
  • Link: Lahaina Early Insights August 2023
  • Link: From Conflagration to Resilience March 2024
  • Link: Research Report: The 2023 Lahaina Conflagration September 2024
  • Link: Lahaina Executive Summary
  • Key takeaways:
    • The August 8-9, 2023 WUI fire in Lahaina, Maui began as a grass fire.
    • The IBHS post-event data collection team focused on obtaining detailed information about 170 properties (less than 10% of impacted homes) to document building material for decks, sidings, windows, and roofs, defensible space, and structure separation distance.
    • The Lahaina fire spread primarily as a result of:
    • 1) Structure-to-structure via embers. Grass fires do not sustain long duration fires, instead the fire intensity is only along the flaming front with a local buoyant plume, thus embers are not a significant concern from grassland fires. Once the grassland fires ignited structures in the WUI interface however, the structures created the embers that allowed spot fires to subsequently ignite other combustible fuels.
    • 2) Connective fuels. Combustible fences, sheds, vehicles, and vegetation were sources of ladder and connective fuels. In some instances, while connective fuels allowed the fire to spread upwind, the fire did not always ignite the main residential structure (though they were damaged due to radiative heat exposure). When the fire spread downwind, connective fuels and small structure separation distances with no or small fuel breaks, resulted in high radiation exposure and prolonged flame impingement.
    • 3) Lack of separation distance. Radiative heating is generally reduced with distance from flames, under no-wind conditions. The winds in Lahaina were high. IBHS research has identified that wind can increase the energy accumulation rate of shed fires. Direct flame impingement in Lahaina was documented as many structures were separated by only a few feet. Nearly all the homes with a downwind separation distance of 10 feet were destroyed, while those with a separation distance of 50 feet had limited visual damage.
    • The building materials of Lahaina’s cladding, windows, roofs, fences, and auxiliary structures were a mixture of combustible, noncombustible, and ignition resistant materials. Building construction type does not appear to be a significant contributor to fire spread in Lahaina, based on a statistical analysis of surviving structures’ building materials.
    • As in most WUI fires, wind was a significant contributing factor in fire spread downwind. Structures in a crosswind experienced relatively lower radiation, intermittent flame impingement, and convective cooling.
2025 Los Angeles County Wildfires
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Case Study, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Published: 2025 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research
  • Link: Early Insights January 2025
  • Link: Early Insights from Field Observations March 2025, updated May 2025
  • Link: Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles April 2025
  • Key takeaways:
    • Within a week of the Palisades and Eaton Fires which both ignited on January 7, 2025, IBHS was on-site to conduct a post-disaster investigation. IBHS staff evaluated 247 structures impacted by the fires to determine exposure to fire from the WUI and buildings, path of fire spread, building materials, and mitigation strategies.
    • Like in the Lahaina investigation, data on building components, separation distance, fuel factors including connective fuels were collected, with initial findings similar findings regarding the impact of separation distance and upwind/ downwind/ crosswind fire spread.
    • Trash cans and hot tubs were identified as unique connective fuels in California.
    • The experience of one homeowner who applied fire retardant gel to their property was consistent with IBHS research. The gel had lost its fire protective property as it dried out, by the time the fire front arrived at the property several hours after applied and homeowner evacuated.
    • As the fire transitioned from a WUI fire to an urban conflagration, each home fire released many embers (short-range and ground-traveling). The extreme intensity of the fire meant that structural hardening or defensible spaces with small separation distances was insufficient to prevent ignition. As fire separation distance increased, structures that were not directly downwind benefitted from fire resistant construction and minimal connecting fuels. Concrete masonry or brick fences successfully minimized radiation exposure and flame impingement in many instances.
    • IBHS makes 7 policy recommendations to Los Angeles County governments to rebuild communities more resilient to wildland-urban interface fires.
Lessons Learned from Waldo Canyon- Fire Adapted Communities Mitigation Assessment Team Findings
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Case Study, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Stephen Quarles, Pam Leschak Rich Cowger, Keith Worley, Remington Brown, Candace Iskowitz
  • Published: 2013 by Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colorado ignited on June 23, 2012. This report is the first by the national Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Coalition to assess risk mitigation practices.
    • The FAC team evaluated 38 homes (26 destroyed, 10 damaged, 2 not damaged) in the Mountain Shadow neighborhood to determine building materials, construction techniques, and vegetation to determine whether and how the residences were ignited. Additionally, 2 homes in adjacent neighborhoods which were not impacted by the Waldo Canyon Fire, were evaluated for comparison of structural hardening and defensible spaces to identify risks that could be mitigated by homeowners.
    • The report identifies risks and mitigation strategies observed of multiple properties: wooded slopes, windows, structure separation distance, combustibles near structures, ember ignition, structure-to-structure fire spread, roof vulnerabilities to embers, and wood shake roofs.
Witch Creek
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Case Study, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Published: July 2008
  • Link: Mega-Fires: The Case for Mitigation – Executive Summary
  • Link: Mega-Fires: The Case for Mitigation
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the Witch Creek wildfire which ignited on October 21, 2007 outside of San Diego, California, IBHS commissioned social science surveys of impacted and neighboring WUI communities to understand motivations to implement risk mitigation strategies. In addition IBHS documented construction features, local conditions, slope, and vegetation of impacted areas.
    • The phone surveys and focus groups identified that there is a high need to educate homeowners about the WUI fire risks and mitigation actions.
    • IBHS compared 3 traditional communities that do not have a community-wide risk mitigation programs to 3 “shelter-in-place” (SIP) communities, which were built with structural hardening in mind and maintain defensible space mitigations for all residences.
    • IBHS attempted to determine if the year of construction (thus what building code was applicable) and if that impacted structure survival. While the majority of the homes destroyed in two of the traditional communities were older (most constructed 1950’s-1990s), the small sample size of homes constructed after 2001 was too small to draw definitive conclusions regarding the benefits of modern building codes.
    • A Wildfire Home Assessment checklist and a Retrofit Guide to help homeowners prioritize risk mitigation actions are included as appendices.
IFSC Wildland Fires Webinar Series
  • Keyword: Resources, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Fire Dynamics, Fire Behavior, Fire Modeling, Wildland Fire Management, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Human Behavior, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Evacuation Modeling, Informal Settlements, Fire Safety Research Institute, International Fire Safety Consortium
  • Location: None Identified
  • Published: May 18, 2023 by International Fire Safety Consortium
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colorado ignited on June 23, 2012. This report is the first by the national Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Coalition to assess risk mitigation practices.
    • Through 30 video lessons part of the Fire Safety Research Institute's Fire Safety Academy, experts from around the world introduce WUI fire dynamics, fire behavior, impact of WUI fires on communities and humans, fire and evacuation modeling, WUI risk mitigation, and informal settlement fires.
Residential Exterior Wall Reaction to Post-Flashover Compartment Fires
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Structural Hardening, Fire Safety Research Institute
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Daniel J. Gorham, Joseph M. Willi, Gavin P. Horn
  • Published: 23 February 2025 by Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • Three exterior wall assemblies were tested to further evaluate fire spread and structure separation distance. The wall assemblies were exterior plywood panels, exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS), and fiber cement plank (which is the only assembly tested which meets the requirements for non-combustible siding in California Building Code Chapter 7A).
    • The wall assemblies were exposed to a post-flashover compartment fire at a 3 meter separation distance. The exposure fire was unique in that it was generated by two sofas, wood coffee table, and carpet and therefore represented a realistic fire scenario of typical home furnishings.
    • If no ignition of the wall assembly occurred, the separation distance was reduced to 1.8 meters and new tests performed. Only the fiber cement plank met this condition. At 1.8 meters, both a fiber cement plank and fiber cement sheet were tested, however the combustible sheathing beneath the fiber cement ignited in all tests. Intermittent direct flame contact occurred at 1.8 meters.
    • If ignition at 3.0 meters occurred, the separation distance was increased to 4.3 meters and wall assemblies tested again. Both the exterior plywood panels and EIFS ignited at both 3.0 and 4.3 meters, but Type X gypsum sheathing installed with the EIFS assembly prevented fire from penetrating further.
    • The target wall assembly also included a gable end eave, which usually ignited first and provided an additional ignition source for the wall assembly.
    • The report proposes that for small separation distances, building codes should include requirements for flame propagation and fire penetration of wall assemblies.
California Fires Independent Analysis
  • Keyword: Structure Fire, Fire Spread, Defensible Space, Building Standards, Structural Hardening, Fire Safety Research Institute, FSRI Case Study, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Published: 2025 by Fire Safety Research Institute
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Fire Safety Research Institute was selected by the State of California to conduct an analysis of the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
    • FSRI will publish two reports:
    • Phase One Report: Fact-Finding About How the California Fire Incident Unfolded
    • Phase Two Report: Analysis of the Data
Pilot Study on Fire Effluent Condensate from Full Scale Residential Fires
  • Keyword: Water Contamination, Fire Safety Research Institute
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Horn, G.P., Dow, N.W. & Neumann, D.L
  • Published: 20 September 2023 by Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contamination in public water systems has been identified following the Tubbs and Camp Fires in California, Lionshead, Alameda, and Echo Mountain Fires in Oregon, Marshall Fire in Colorado, and Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico.
    • This study collected combustion gas condensate and fire suppression water runoff from 5 room and contents fires to better understand the potential for contaminants condensing out of airborne fire effluents.
    • The condensate’s pH was acidic, while the suppression runoff pH was basic. The contaminants detected included benzene, toluene, xylenes, styrene, naphthalene, and acetone along with several anions in the acidic effluent. The elevated levels of contaminants was similar to those detected after WUI fires and represent a public health concern.
The Marshall Fire: Scientific and policy needs for water system disaster response
  • Keyword: Water Contamination, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Andrew J. Whelton, Chad Seidel, Brad P. Wham, Erica C. Fischer, Kristofer Isaacson, Caroline Jankowski, Nathan MacArthur, Elizabeth McKenna, Christian Ley
  • Published: 17 January 2023 by AWWA Water Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report is a case study analysis of public water systems experiences during the December 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado.
    • The public water systems, which also provided firefighting water, were negatively impacted by the wildfires. In Superior, power/natural gas supplies were cut as a precautionary action and backup generators were destroyed by the fire, resulting in loss of pressure. Louisville cross-connected to supply Superior, but then Louisville encountered a loss of pressure as structures were destroyed and water flowed freely. Lafayette then supported Louisville with a hydrant-to-hydrant connection. Smaller water systems also experienced a loss of power and water pressure.
    • The process of restoring, flushing, and testing the water systems for biological and chemical contaminants, and the potential points of entry of contaminants into the water systems is described.
    • A number of lessons learned and recommendation of policies ( and procedures (such as sampling for volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds) for local governments and public water system operators are offered.
Wildfire caused widespread drinking water distribution network contamination
  • Keyword: Water Contamination, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: C. R. Proctor, J. Lee, D. Yu, A. D. Shah, and A. J. Whelton
  • Published: 24 July 2020 by AWWA Water Science
  • Key takeaways:
    • Following the Camp Fire (2018), the authors reviewed chemical water-testing records, examined response and recovery documentation, and interviewed appropriate stakeholders in California for both the Camp Fire and Tubbs Fire (2017), with the goal of identifying factors influencing threats to water quality within the distribution system.
    • Water authority response to their respective fires was challenging:
    • Santa Rosa was able to isolate parts of the system impacted by the fire, while Paradise did not have time to do so before being forced to evacuate the town.
    • Santa Rosa collected significantly more water samples for testing (5,244 samples in 8 months) than Paradise (1,699 samples in 8 months). Santa Rosa had its own water testing facilities, while Paradise had to rely on commercial
    • laboratories, which resulted in long wait times to obtain results.
    • Both fires resulted in significant levels of Benzene, plus volatile organic compounds including napthalene, tert-butanol, toluene, and vinyl chloride, which exceeded short-term drinking water exposure limits.
    • Authorities offered conflicting advice regarding water safety. Contaminated water entered private property plumbing systems, but residents lacked information on how to adequately test water quality in the home or business. The process to determine if the system was “clean” was unclear. Santa Rosa ultimately replaced water infrastructure, while Paradise was more inclined to flushing, which would have required months. Disposal of contaminated water with high benzene levels is also a challenge.
Wildfire induces changes in receiving waters: A review with considerations for water quality management
  • Keyword: Water Contamination, Case Study
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: M. J. Paul, S. D. LeDuc, M. G. Lassiter, L. C. Moorhead, P. D. Noyes, and S. G. Leibowitz
  • Published: September 2022 by Water Resources Research
  • Key takeaways:
    • This report is a literature review of wildland fire effects on water quality with emphasis on magnitude of impact, duration of impact, and the change (increase/decrease) experienced because of a wildland fire.
    • Physical metric including water yield, sediments, and temperature increased post-fire. Chemical metrics including nutrients, ions, organic chemicals, and metals likewise increased in burned areas, exceeding drinking water standards or aquatic life criteria. Biological (species) metrics declined.
    • Knowledge gaps were identified, highlighting the lack of information about water impacts in urban areas impacted by wildland fires. Streams are the most studied water body following a wildfire, which means lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, and estuaries are a knowledge gap, especially if those are sources of municipal drinking water. Groundwater sources are also under studied.
Wildfire Risk to Communities
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources, Fire Modeling
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type U.S. Forest Service
  • Published: https://wildfirerisk.org/
  • Link: Understand Risk
  • Link: Explore Risk
  • Link: Reduce Risk
  • Key takeaways:
    • This website offers maps, charts, and resources to help communities better understand and prioritize ways to reduce wildfire risk. The website was created by the USDA Forest Service under the direction of Congress in the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
    • The website pulls data from multiple U.S. government agencies, including National Weather Service, U.S. Census Bureau, and vegation/fuels from the modeling program LANDFIRE.
The Palisades Fire of Los Angeles: Lessons to Be Learned
  • Keyword: Fire Service, Urban Planning, Case Study, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Vytenis Babrauskas
  • Published: July 2025 by Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • This article offers some lessons learned from the Pacific Palisades fire in January 2025, as well as offering a historical perspective from a 1961 WUI fire in Los Angeles, California.
    • A discussion of the response capabilities of the fire department (personnel, apparatus, and adequate water supplies) is examined, based on initial media reports. The author recommends a dedicated high-pressure water supply system and/or the installation of cutoff valves to prevent damaged/destroyed houses from draining the duel-use water supply.
    • The responsibility at the federal, state, local government and homeowner level for vegetation/fuel management is evaluated. The author recommends changes to environmental laws and zoning regulations to support vegetation management.
Understanding Wildfires in Norway: Key Hazards and Vegetation Fires Damaging Buildings 2016–2023
  • Keyword: Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Wildland Fire Management, Fire Spread
  • Location: Norway, Europe
  • Authors: Ragni Fjellgaard Mikalsen, Edvard Aamodt, Max Gribble, Ellen Synnøve Skilbred, Dag Olav Snersrud, Kemal Sarp Arsava
  • Published: 13 March 2025 by Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • The paper analyzes 74 fires that began in vegetation and spread to buildings in Norway, between January 2016 to April 2023. The data indicates that spring is when ¾ of the fires occurred. The data set was then reduced to a more detailed analysis of the 19 fires that impacted 2 or more buildings.
    • The fire data is then compared to data collected during three prescribed burns and post-fire data collection from one coastal wildfire that did not impact any structures. The goal of the prescribed burns was to better understand fire spread rates and heat fluxes of typical Norwegian vegetation and compare the data to similar studies conducted elsewhere.
    • The report identified a gap in national fire data collection; ignition source and method of fire spread to structures (radiation, flame impingement, or embers). Additional information including: location, type of local vegetation, fuel moisture content, fire intensity, wind speed, temperature, humidity, and recent precipitation are also helpful metrics for further analysis.
A fire safety engineering approach to improving community resilience to the impacts of wildfire
  • Keyword: Urban Planning, Building Standards, Wildland Evacuation, Fire Service, Structural Hardening
  • Location: United States, Canada, Chile, Australia, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Lebanon, North America, South America, Oceania, Europe, Asia
  • Authors: Greg Penney, Greg Baker, Andres Valencia, Daniel Gorham
  • Published: 2 September 2024 by Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • A systematic literature review initially identified 608 articles published between 2001 and 2023 for further analysis, ultimately reduced to 142 studies for eligibility, reduced to 66 studies for bibliometric and narrative review. The goal was to identify published articles focused on performance criteria or performance-based design solutions for WUI fire resilience and urban planning regulations/governance.
    • During the narrative review 4 themes emerged 1) Governance (18% of articles); 2) Fire Spread, Impact and Control (44% of articles); 3) Occupant Evacuation and Sheltering (26% of articles); and 4) Fire Services Intervention (12% of articles).
    • None of the articles reviewed provided best practices for regulations or governance. Three articles recommended performance criteria:
    • 1. Firefighter tenability (10 kW/m2) and operational suppression (3 kW/m2) maximum radiant heat flux.
    • 2. Wildfire suppression water flow rates and fire service activation and deployment timeline.
    • 3. Vehicle access, egress, and movement design criteria.
    • As of the time of publication, none of these three recommended performance criteria have been adopted into urban design or building codes.
How to Approach the Definition of WUI in Northern Europe
  • Keyword: Risk Assessment/Management, Firebrands/Embers
  • Location: Sweden, Norway, Europe
  • Authors: Javier Elio Medina, Frida Vermina Plathner, Elsa Pastor, Nieves Fernandez-Anez
  • Published: 16 January 2025 by Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • Sweden and Norway lack WUI mapping parameters or widely accepted definitions of the Wildland-Urban Interface or Wildland-Urban Intermix. Therefore, the authors sought to analyze the two countries based on WUI definitions related to vegetation, population/building density, and ember spotting (buffer) distance, based on comparisons to southern Europe and North America.
    • The authors conclude that for Sweden and Norway, fuel maps are more accurate for determining WUI risk than those based solely on vegetation, map rastor/resolution is a factor in map selection, and the seasonal timing of wildfires in Scandinavia is much different (spring, when snow thaws and before the vegetation greens) from other areas.
    • Similarly, the standard assumption of 6.17 buildings per square kilometer used elsewhere to define WUI areas is not appropriate for Sweden or Norway; 1 building per square kilometer may be more appropriate.
    • An appropriate buffer distances for ember spotting was not determined, as more research on the climate conditions in Scandinavia is necessary to understand implications for ember lofting.
Characterisation of Hedge Burning in the Context of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Prevention
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Defensible Space, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Fire Modeling
  • Location: United States, Canada, Chile, Italy, Greece, Portugal, France, Australia, North America, South America, Europe, Oceania
  • Authors: Virginie Tihay-Felicelli, Karina Meerpoel-Pietri, Paul-Antoine Santoni, Yolanda Perez-Ramirez, Anthony Graziani, Frédéric Morandini, Camille Luciani, William Mell, Alexander Maranghides
  • Published: 08 January 2025 by Fire and Materials
  • Key takeaways:
    • Using the Experimentation and Awareness-Raising on Fire Risks at Wildland Urban Interfaces (EXPLORII) Platform’s sensors (meteorological station, anemometers, load cell, heat flux gauges, thermocouples, cameras and smoke chemicals analyzers) to collect data, the authors conducted experiments to burn representative rockrose hedges, to characterize the fire exposure, heat release rate, flame length, fireline intensity, and heat flux on a representative structural façade, during 9 field-scale tests. The collected data can potentially be used in fire models simulating the transition from a vegetation fire to a structure fire.
    • The defensible space requirements for the United States, Canada, Chile, Italy, Greece, Portugal, France, and Australia, as well as building construction requirements for external fire exposure in Australia and Portugal, are summarized.
    • The horizontal flame from a 1 meter high, 1 meter wide rockrose hedge, extended 1.6 to 5.5 meters. Which means structures in the United States, Canada, Greece, France, and parts Abruzzo, Italy would have experienced flame impingement, while in Portugal and Tuscany, Italy, the flame impingement would have potentially intermittent.
    • The authors discuss the appropriateness of the heat flux calculations based on Portuguese and Australian regulations relative to the field experiments and typical WUI vegetation fire conditions.
The Los Angeles Conflagration of 1961: The Devil Wind and Wood Shingles
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Case Study, Firebrand/Embers, Urban Planning, Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Rex Wilson
  • Published: January 1962 by NFPA Quarterly
  • Key takeaways:
    • This article presents a case study of a Bel Air, California fire which began on November 6, 1961. Many of the conditions (drought, low humidity, Santa Ana winds) are similar to the January 2025 (and other previous) fires in Los Angeles, through the road infrastructure and housing density was less well developed 64 years earlier.
    • The article discusses the Los Angeles Fire Departments pre-planning (Mountain Patrol) and operations during the fire.
    • Embers were a significant source of fire spread in 1961, particularly both from and to, wood shake/wood shingle roofs. The fire department anticipated that one fireman could defend up to 5 homes with fire retardant roofs, but a fireman could only defend a single home with a combustible roof. As spot fires skipped ahead of the main fire front, the fire department lacked the resources (people, water supply, apparatus) to defend the large number of homes with wood roofs. Fire and ember intrusion to the interior of structures occurred through vents, eaves, single-pane windows that failed, skylights, porches/decks, etc.
    • The article discusses the potential of external fire protection (water supply is an issue) and fire-resistant coatings (performance after weathering conditions is an issue). Six decades later, water supply and weathering remain barrier to use of either protection system.
    • A structure with 35 feet of defensible space and a fire-retardant roof was 4 times more likely to survive and with 75 feet of defensible space, 8 times more likely to survive that homes with wood shingles/shakes in the 1961 fire. Defensible space remains an important risk mitigation effort.
Modeling Neighborhoods as Fuel for Wildfire: A Review
  • Keyword: Fire Spread, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Structure Fire, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Modeling
  • Location: None Identified
  • Authors: Bryce A. Young, Matthew P. Thompson, Christopher J. Moran & Carl A. Seielstad
  • Published: 4 July 2025 by Fire Technology
  • Key takeaways:
    • The article conducted a literature review of 118 sources sorting them into 7 themes. The intent was to focus on identifying structure and defensible space features that potentially influence the survivability (or loss) of a structure.
    • A table lists 5 defensible space features and 7 structural features that influence structure vulnerabilities, based on a literature review. The table references a number of published references for each vulnerability listed, but notes that the number of references cited for a particular feature does not always correlate to its importance; it can be a function of how easy it is to observe the feature after an event, with the example of siding (easy to see) vs maintenance (hard to determine).
    • Another table lists 5 different structure vulnerability assessment methodologies/indices. The article identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each assessment methodology and data sources (databases vs in-person assessments).
    • The paper then discusses 3 emerging fire models for structure-to-structure fire spread, comparing in a table how each considers the structure and vegetation, and potential method of fire spread (radiation, embers, or direct flame). The structure and defensible space vulnerabilities identified earlier in the paper do not appear to be incorporated into the three fire models.
    • The paper acknowledges that additional research on material ignition, heat release rate, and ember production is needed and if incorporated into the structural fire spread models, could improve model accuracy.
Wildland-Urban Interface Codes in Colorado: Perceptions & Messaging for a Statewide Building Code
  • Keyword: Resources, Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Building Standards, Urban Planning
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: U.S. Forest Service
  • Authors: Kelly Pohl, Deserai Anderson Crow, Nathan Jeschke, and Betsy Smith
  • Published: July 2025 by Headwaters Economics
  • Key takeaways:
    • Between 30-45% of Colorado’s homes are in the WUI. In preparation for the adoption in July 2025 of a statewide WUI code, the authors asked two questions: 1) What are the main barriers to adopting WUI building codes in Colorado? and 2) What messaging or policy tools could help address these barriers?
    • The study identified that there was more support than opposition to a statewide WUI code. Concerns focused on local-control overlap with existing regulations and costs/capacity to implement/enforce. Supporters focused on benefits to a landscape-scale approach to set a floor for standardized regulations.
    • Specific elements of a WUI code with widespread support included ignition-resistant rate new construction, ignition-resistant attached/detached structures, road width, vegetation management, and water supply. Zoning/land-use and interior/exterior sprinklers had less support.
    • Support for various mechanisms to enforce the WUI code varied, with written notice with a timeline for resolution the most popular and one-time monetary fine the least popular. .
    • The preferred messaging (hero vs impact vs facts) depended on whether the recipient was in the private vs public sector. Thus, a variety of messages should be tailored for different audiences.
California Wildfire Rebuilding Guide
  • Keyword: Resources, Building Standards, Structural Hardening, Urban Planning, Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Brittany Moffett, Heather Rosenberg, Mackenzie Roach, Becky Feldman, Ben Stapleton, Elizabeth Christy, Erik Gonzales- Kramer, Julie Du Brow, Ling Luo, Priscilla Steele, Sarah Wolf
  • Published: April 2025 by USGBC California
  • Key takeaways:
    • The guide was developed to help single-family homeowers, designers, and contractors rebuild from the January 2025 Los Angeles fires in a sustainable way that also mitigates future risks from WUI fires and other hazards.
    • After an introduction to the 3 methods of ignition from WUI fires, terminology, and some frequently asked questions (FAQ) about rebuilding, the guide provides additional information to guide rebuilding decision making focused on:
    • 1) Placement (acknowledging site constraints in suburban/urban areas)
    • 2) Envelope Design (roof, fireplace, screen/vents, exterior walls, windows)
    • 3) Building Systems (HVAC, solar, back-up power)
    • 4) Outdoors (landscape, irrigation, decks/patios, fences, driveways/gates, maintenance)
    • 5) Green Innovation (natural materials, pre-fabrication)
    • 6) Community (resilient communities, trauma-informed approach, managing fire, shared purchasing power, shared energy resilience)
    • Each category and sub-category looked at design decisions, what improves fire performance, options, and co-benefits to consider (savings, safer, or sustainable).
Smoke Ready Communities
  • Keyword: Resources, Case Study, Risk Assessment/Mitigation
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Published: August 2025 by Fire Adapted Communities
  • Key takeaways:
    • Building on the Fire Adapted Communities Resources, the Smoke Ready Community Resources wepage offers graphics to encourage community engagement and case studies from Missoula County, Montana, Ashland Oregon, and North Central Washington are highlighted to mitigate the harmful, community-wide, health risks of smoke.
    • The resources address many potential sources of smoke besides wildfires, such as wood-burning stoves, fire places, and burning rubbish. Potential funding sources to prevent and prepare for smoke are offered.
Beyond Parcel-Level Risk Assessment & Mitigation - Engaging Fire Service and Community Stakeholders: The WUI Virtual Handbook for Fire Risk Assement & Mitigation, 2nd Edition
  • Keyword:Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Urban Planning, Structure Fire, Building Standards, Fire Service, Wildland Evacuation, Human Behavior, Traffic, Firebands/Embers, Resources, Fire Modeling, Evacuation Modeling
  • Location: North America, United States
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation Funded
  • Funding Type: Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Published: 19 August 2025 by the SFPE Foundation
  • Link: WUI Virtual Handbook for Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation, 2nd Edition
  • Key takeaways:
    • This program is made possible with federal funding support from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fire Prevention & Safety Grant Program (FY 2022).
    • This project expanded and revised the first edition of the SFPE Foundation WUI Virtual Handbook to make it a more flexible tool that can be utilized for a wider range of needs, including (1) training property inspectors, (2) conducting WUI property assessments, (3) engaging with homeowners regarding WUI risks and mitigation activities, and (4) engaging community leaders in understanding WUI fire risks and potential mitigation activities. It was designed to meet the needs of more- and less-experienced departments and to empower fire service personnel to reduce community risk while raising awareness of complementary tools, resources, and training available through organizations operating in this space.
    • In addition to the Handbook, 3 flyers about the 3 sections of the Handbook (Structural Hardening, Defensible Space, and Community and Neighborhood Scale Hazard Assessment), a Parcel-Scale Wildland Fire Assessment Checklist, and 4 videos explaining how to use the Handbook to engage with property owners and community members, are available online.
    • The Handbook is available in both a downloadable PDF and for use online (or once loaded onto a tablet or mobile device, can be accessed offline).
Fire risk to structures in California’s Wildland-Urban Interface
  • Keyword:Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Case Study, Machine Learning Models, Structure Fire, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Modeling, Fire Spread
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors:Maryam Zamanialaei, Daniel San Martin, Maria Theodori, Dwi Marhaendro Jati Purnomo,  Ali Tohidi, Chris Lautenberger, Yiren Qin, Arnaud Trouvé  &  Michael Gollner 
  • Published: 28 August 2025 by Nature Communications
  • Zoom Presentation: October 21, 2025 to Santa Clara County FireSafe Council
  • Presentation Slides: October 21, 2025 to Santa Clara County FireSafe Council
  • Key takeaways:
    • A case study of five WUI fires in California (2017 Tubbs, 2017 Thomas, 2018 Camp, 2019 Kincade, and 2020 Glass) are analyzed using machine learning of post-fire data, GIS data, and fire reconstruction modeling to identify structure loss and risk mitigation patterns.
    • ELMFIRE was used to recreate fire spread conditions to estimate fire exposure data (flame length and ember deposits) relative to the 47,000 structures in the areas of analysis.
    • Structure separation distance was the most predictive factor for 4 of the 5 fires (Thomas, Camp, Kincade, and Glass), and the second most predictive factor for the 5th fire (Tubbs). Flame length was the highest predictive factor for the Tubbs Fire and second most predictive factor for Thomas, Camp, and Kincade fires.
    • XGBoost was the machine learning model selected for further analysis and prediction of structure survivability, in part because it was 82% accurate in predicting structure loss within the dataset (other models evaluated were less accurate). No mitigation predicted a20% structure survival rate and 80% loss of structures. Home hardening alone predicted 25% survival, 75% loss of structures. Home hardening plus clear Zone 0 (0-5 feet/0-1.5 meters) defensible space increased the predicted survival rate to 40%. Home hardening, Zone 0, and Zone 1 (5-30 feet/1.5-9 meters) predicted a survival rate of 48%.
The CAED Framework for the Development of Performance-Based Design at the Wildland–Urban Interface
  • Keyword: Urban Planning, Case Study, Building Standards
  • Location: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Oceania
  • Authors: Greg Penney, Greg Baker, Andres Valencia, and Daniel Gorham
  • Published:  13 April 2022 by Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • In the WUI, prescriptive codes are being adopted, but performance-based designs (PBD) are not yet widely accepted. This paper conducts a review of codes and standards in Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand and a narrative literature review of published articles focused on WUI urban planning from 2000 to 2020 to identify the potential application of PBD in the WUI.
    • The PBD process from the SFPE Guide to Performance-Based Fire Safety Design, International Standard ISO 23932-1:2018, International Fire Engineering Guidelines, and Australian Fire Engineering Guidelines (AEFG) are summarized, with each guideline’s process discrete steps itemized. While the steps may vary between guides, the paper proposes that all of the guidelines follow the AEFG’s Consultation, Analysis, Evaluation, and Documentation (CAED) Framework.
    • A case study compares the CAED/PBD’s Consultation step between a multi-story residential building in an urban setting (a vertical subdivision) and a residential community of single-family homes in the WUI (a horizontal subdivision). The Analysis, Evaluation, and Documentation steps are not included in the case study.
    • The study concludes that the CAED Framework can be successfully applied to a WUI community, but acknowledges that until evidence-based quantitative performance criteria and verification methods can be incorporated into WUI urban planning and standards, PBD designs will not be widely used.
A Handbook of Wildfire Engineering: Guidance for wildfire suppression and resilient urban design
  • Keyword: Case Study, Fire Service, Wildland Fire Management, Fire Modeling, Fire Dynamics, Fire Behavior, Urban Planning, Resources, Structural Hardening
  • Location: Australia, Oceania
  • Authors: Greg Penney, Daryoush Habibi, Marcus Cattani, Steven Richardson
  • Published: September 2020 by Natural Hazards Research Australia
  • Key takeaways:
    • This handbook is written to support fire service personnel responding to bushfires (wildfires) and urban planners. At the end of each chapter, a section identifies information pertinent for urban planners or firefighters, as applicable, to consider.
    • The chapters are:
    • Wildfire Fuels
    • Modeling Wildfire Behaviour
    • Wildfire radiant heat flux
    • Wildfire suppression
    • Defensive tactics
    • Firefighter tenability in the wildfire context
    • Critical water flow rates
    • Vehicle protection systems during entrapment and burnover
    • Risk Management during dynamic firefighting contexts
    • Conclusions
Applying the Concept of Verification in Fire Engineering to the WUI
  • Keyword: Case Study, Urban Planning, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Fire Modeling
  • Location: Australia, Oceania
  • Authors: Greg Drummond, Greg Baker, Daniel Gorham, Andres Valencia, Anthony Power
  • Published: 30 August 2025 by Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • This article proposes a Wildfire Expected Risk to Life and Property (WERLP) verification method. WERLP is a probabilistic verification method which can be applied in Australia.
    • The WERLP calculation applies a safety factor in an equation which includes the probabilities of: ignition in the landscape, the fire reaching the urban interface, the fire encroaching into the built environment, fire propagating within the built environment fire propagating within buildings, non-complying construction resulting in otherwise avoided fire impact, and critical aspects of the approved design failing during the life of the building.
    • WERLP is applied to a new hospital development in the bushfire prone area as a case study. The Ember Fire Weather Software was used to develop scenario weather while the SPARK wildfire model created the design fire scenarios evaluated. In the case study, the WERLP calculates the design is acceptable from a building code and urban design perspective.
Modelling Radiant Heat Flux and Rate of Spread of Wildfire in Urban Environments
  • Keyword: Case Study, Fire Modeling, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: Australia, Oceania
  • Authors: Greg Penney and Steven Richardson
  • Published: 7 January 2019 by Fire
  • Key takeaways:
    • Many wildfire models assume fire growth is not impacted by fuel (vegetation) geometry and has a steady rate of spread. Applying such steady-state fire spread models to urban areas which can have non-combustible structures between the fire front and the target structure, thereby reducing the heat flux at the target structure, or where the geometry of vegetation is variable, without modification, is not appropriate.
    • Two hypothetical case studies are evaluated. The first case study is a cluster of single-family brick homes adjacent to a bush lands (ignition point), with the target structure a home across the street. In the second scenario, a vegetation fire on the shoulder of a freeway (ignition point) is separated from homes by a 3-meter-tall brick wall.
    • The study concludes that vegetation fire spread models overestimate radiant heat flux, if they do not account for non-combustible obstructions, such as walls or structures. The potential radiant heat flux from a structure fire was not considered.
Q2 2023 Fire Protection Engineering Magazine
  • Keyword: Defensible Space, Structural Hardening, Fire Modeling, Evacuation Modeling, Fire Dynamics, Fire Service, Firebrands/Embers, Fire Spread, Building Standards, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Structure Fire, Informal Settlements, Resources
  • Location: None Specified
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Publication: Quarter 2 2023 Fire Protection Engineering
  • Published: 2023 by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers
  • Key Takeaways:
Integrating Fire Engineering and the Fire Service Through WUI Training and Tool Development
  • Keyword: Fire Service, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Resources
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: SFPE Foundation, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Authors: Jamie McAllister, CFI, PE, PhD, and Hubert Biteau, PhD, PE, CFEI
  • Published: Q1 2024 by Fire Protection Engineering
  • Key takeaways:
    • A Federal Emergency Management Agency Fire Prevention and Safety grant funded the development of a fire engineering-based curriculum focused on WUI property risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
    • The target training audience is fire service members, emergency managers, and community planners. The training references the SFPE Foundation’s WUI Virtual Handbook. The course covers:
      • Basic terminology associated with WUI risk assessment and mitigation
      • Approaches used for structural and property hardening and fire protection
      • Methods and models used for asset risk assessment
      • Approaches in community notification and evacuation
      • Methods for community hazard assessment, community design and protection, and infrastructure hardening
      • Approaches in community education, messaging, and partnerships
    • A risk assessment of learning outcomes during pilot testing identified the value of the training in improving attendee knowledge and will allow participants to confidently apply the WUI risk assessment and methodologies to their communities.
Evolution of the Fire Dynamics Simulator—Then and Now
  • Keyword: Fire Modeling, Fire Dynamics
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Funding Type: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Authors: Jason Floyd, PhD
  • Published: Q3 2017 by Fire Protection Engineering
  • Key takeaways:
    • Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) was developed by the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at NIST. FDS was first released in 2000. In the subsequent decades it grew from 20,000 lines of Fortran code to 150,000 lines of Fortran code as of article publication date in 2017 and a transition to GitHub. (As of September 2025, FDS was on version 6.10.1, with over 300,000 lines of code in Fortran, TeX, Python, and other coding languages.)
    • “To better support wildland fire modeling and research, the capability of Lagrangian particles was expanded from simple massless particles or droplets to solid particles that could pyrolyze.”
    • “Recent years have seen many large wildland fires impacting cities and towns across the country. Modeling of these fires requires capturing large-scale atmospheric conditions and flows over large regions (multiple square miles) as well as the small-scale details of flame fronts. This is driving development of a number of items: better support for massively parallel (hundreds or thousands of processors) computations, new methods for modeling atmospheric flows, and embedded meshes for allowing local refinement as needed.”
Landscaping defensible space: Plant flammability testing informs recommendations to reduce community fire hazard
  • Keyword: Fire Dynamics, Fire Spread, Fire Behavior, Defensible Space
  • Location: United States, North America
  • Authors: Kristina Fauss, Joe V. Celebrezze, Robert Lloyd Fitch, Indra Boving, Rachel Dye, Max A. Moritz
  • Published: December 2025 by Landscape and Urban Planning
  • Key takeaways:
    • This research created an electronic community survey distributed to Santa Barbara, California WUI residents to identify popular landscape plant species and preferred plant traits (flowers, drought resistant, etc.). Samples of 8 preferred plant species were obtained for analysis and flammability testing.
    • The construction of a custom-built flammability chamber was detailed. The follow data was collected: ignitability (autoignition, manual ignition, no ignition), combustibility (heat flux change, temperature change, and flame height), and sustainability (flame duration). A flammability index based on ignitability, combustibility, and sustainability was calculated for all samples and compared to desired plant traits.
    • With the exception of the sage species tested, plant species with lower leaf mass per area ignited and burned faster than woody, high leaf mass per area plants. Plants that more readily ignited had lower combustion intensities or shorter flame duration. Both dryness (lower moisture content) and biomass increased combustibility and sustainability of fires from all tested plant species.
Structure Triage Considerations for Wildland-Urban Interface Firefighting
  • Keyword: Fire Dynamics, Fire Spread, Structural Hardening, Defensible Space, Fire Service, Firebrands/Embers, Building Standards, Wildland Evacuation, Risk Assessment/Mitigation, Case Study, Resources, Fire Safety Research Institute, FSRI Case Study, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Case Study, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, IBHS Case Study
  • Location: None Specified
  • Published: 2025 by Fire Safety Research Institute Fire Safety Academy
  • Key takeaways:
    • The Structure Triage for WUI Firefighting training was developed based on FSRI research, including its analysis of the 2023 Lahaina fire in Hawaii. The training also references National Institute of Standards and Technology and Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety experiments, case studies, and reports.
    • The training has three sections:
    • 1) WUI fuels, ignition mechanisms, and fire spread
    • 2) Structure Triage Analysis includes: roofs, attic vents, and gutters, siding and exterior wall vents, windows, decks and raised structures, fencing, and parcel fuels. FSRI testing research is highlighted. The training offers suggestions to analyze and mitigate potential fire risks for each structural vulnerability.
    • 3) Community Resilience, including structure separation distance, access, egress, and evacuation considerations, and community features (including topography, vegetation, and fuel breaks). Assessing and planning for scenarios impacted by each of these is highlighted.
    • Pre-tests allow knowledgeable students to “test out” of the lessons on WUI fuels, ignition mechanisms, and fire spread.
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