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- Info
Public perceptions of defensible space and the use of prescribed fire in Florida's wildland-urban interface
| Author: |
Monroe, M.C.; Bowers, A.W. |
| Date: |
2002 |
| Periodical: |
Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. 41 p. |
| Abstract: |
Wildland fire across the United States has put a number of residents at risk and stressed the resources of many forestry and fire agencies as they work to suppress the fires. Residents can play an important role in reducing their risk and in supporting fuel treatments on nearby undeveloped lands. Many of Florida's forest ecosystems are best maintained with fire and prescribed fire is an important management tool. Without consistent fuels management, a thick understory of saw palmetto, wax myrtle, gallberry , grapevine, and smilax connects to the pine canopy to increase hazardous conditions in times of drought. Lightning strikes accompanied by high winds and low humidity can convert an unkempt woodlot into a firestorm. Messages to encourage residents to reduce fuels around their house often focus on the risk of fire to the exclusion of many other values that homeowners seek in their rural, wooded residence. Their landscape preferences, attitudes about fire, and neighborhood regulations could affect their
willingness to create defensible space, despite the information they receive. Because many of the interface residents are at risk because of large tracts of undeveloped land, their perceptions of those management activities may affect their willingness to alter their own landscape. A perceived lack of management may breed an attitude of "why bother." If they are concerned about the use of prescribed fire in the undeveloped area, they may be more willing to create defensible space to protect their own property from possible runaway fires. This report summarizes recent activity to identify and interview residents of Florida' s wildland-urban interface at risk of wildland fire and analyze their landscape preferences, perceptions of fire, and willingness to accept fuel treatments on nearby undeveloped lands. Since only 43 households participated, these results cannot be generalized to any larger group. The value of this study is in better understanding some of the voices in the interface, exploring some of the attitudes that promote and prevent homeowner preparedness for fire, and revealing some potential strategies that may assist agencies as they work with residents of the wildland-urban interface. |
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