• Ready Reserves
• Wildland Urban Interface

Wildland Urban Interface

Wildland Urban Interface

Wildland urban interace is roughly defined as the zone where natural areas and development meet. The wildland urban interface (WUI) has gained increasing importance as more Americans build homes in rural settings adjacent to public lands. Since the development and implementation of the National Fire Plan, there has been a marked increase in reduction of hazardous fuels in the WUI on the edge of federal lands.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) works closing with neighboring communities to reduce future wildfire risks to homes near national wildlife refuges and other FWS lands. Homeowner responsibility for maintaining property according to fire safety standards is essential to effectively protecting communities from catastrophic wildfire.

The Mine Fire, San Diego County, California burned through the wildland urban interface in 2003. (USFWS)

Fuels reduction in the WUI focuses on high-risk communities and adjacent natural resources that are inherently important to social and/or economic stability. These projects increase public and firefighter safety, reduce risk of unwanted fire, protect recreational opportunities on Service lands, strengthen rural economies, and increase public understanding of fire management.

A mechanical "slashbuster" breaks apart thick, overgrown vegetation at Bear Valley NWR. The refuge is bordered by the towns of Keno and Worden, Oregon. (USFWS)

Is my community listed as "at risk"? Click here to find out.

Read Fire News stories about the Wildland Urban Interface:
	Hazardous Fuels Reduction at NASA
	San Francisco WUI Project Helps Refuge Neighbors

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 547 national wildlife refuges and 69 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 50% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 260,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns about 300,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 530 permanent fire professionals, along with 270 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 3,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.