Wildland Fire Management: Movement Towards Enabling Resiliency?

Abstract

Wildfires in the western US are changing. Research suggests they are expanding in size and duration. The results include civilian and firefighter fatali-ties, record destruction and damage to homes and infrastructure, and increasing costs to agencies responsible for fire management. Two developments within the framework of wildland fire management suggest potential movement towards ena-bling resiliency. One of these is development of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. The other is a state-level initiative, Colorado's Task Force on Wildfire Insurance and Forest Health. A goal of both processes is to seek methods which allow human populations and infrastructure to withstand a wild-fire without loss of life and property. One implication will be how these initiatives enable resiliency within the larger subject of disaster management. Another will be to potentially apply this type of strategy development and working group method-ology to other appropriate fields of disaster management.