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- Info
GIS applications in wildland/urban interface fire planning: The Missoula County (Montana) project
| Author: |
Close, K.R.; Wakimoto, R.H. |
| Date: |
1995 |
| Periodical: |
In: Symposium on Fire in Wilderness and Park Management; 1993 March 30-April 1; Missoula, MT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-320. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. |
| Abstract: |
The real key to finding solutions lies in cooperative efforts in planning and hazard mitigation, well before a potential disaster strikes. To this end, the development of a comprehensive geographical information base for wildfire hazard assessment and risk analysis is vital for effective planning for fire prevention, hazard mitigation, and land management. This process necessarily needs to accommodate wildland, rural, and urban land management strategies and philosophies. This is due to the complexity of fire management and resource protection strategies in the wildland/urban interface, and the unique and diverse needs of fire protection personnel in each agency at numerous levels of planning. The GIS-based inventory developed in this project will provide specific information on each area to Missoula County agencies involved in urban interface fire protection. The wildland/urban interface issue, by its very nature, is a dual responsibility of wildland fire managers and structure protection agencies. Therefore, a GIS that can target specific "mutual threat" zones may also serve as a foundation for future cooperative efforts between fire protection organizations. |
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