Pacific Southwest

Title: The homeowner view of thinning methods for fire hazard reduction: more positive than many think

Author: McCaffrey, Sarah

Date: 2008

Source: In: Narog, Marcia G., tech. coord. 2008. Proceedings of the 2002 Fire Conference: Managing fire and fuels in the remaining wildlands and open spaces of the Southwestern United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-189. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. p. 15-22

Station ID: GTR-PSW-189

Description: With the focus of the National Fire Plan on decreasing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface, fire managers are increasingly tasked with reducing the fuel load in areas where mixed public and private ownership and a growing number of homes can make most fuel reduction methods problematic at best. In many of these intermix areas, use of prescribed burning will be difficult, and it is likely that thinning will be the dominant method for fuel load reduction. Yet little research has been done on acceptability of different thinning methods, and the current understanding is based primarily on accepted conventional wisdom. A limited number of surveys found that two-thirds of respondents thought thinning in general an acceptable fire management tool, but they did not examine differences in acceptability of specific practices. However, understanding what homeowners think about particular methods, and what is associated with more supportive views, can provide critical assistance to managers as they develop fuel hazard reduction plans. A survey of homeowners in Incline Village, Nevada found that support for most thinning methods, except herbicide use, was quite high, but varied across respondents. Factors associated with acceptability of specific methods include perception of fire risk, previous direct and indirect wildfire experience, perception of the role of various agencies in fire planning, and age. Individual responses also appeared to be influenced by the local character of the environment around Incline Village, particularly the desire to protect the water clarity of Lake Tahoe.

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Citation

McCaffrey, Sarah  2008.  The homeowner view of thinning methods for fire hazard reduction: more positive than many think.   In: Narog, Marcia G., tech. coord. 2008. Proceedings of the 2002 Fire Conference: Managing fire and fuels in the remaining wildlands and open spaces of the Southwestern United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-189. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. p. 15-22.