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Wildland/urban interface refers to that area where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with the "wildland." The term wildland refers to the grass fields, shrubs, and forests that we associate with living in the country.
Over the last century the population of America has nearly tripled, with much of the growth flowing into traditionally natural areas. Many families want to get out of the cities and "return to nature." They are building homes in secluded, heavily forested areas. It has happened here on Mount Desert Island and the surrounding areas and has developed a landscape of forests that are interspersed with homes, thus creating a wildland/urban interface. Wildland fires now frequently happen in America's backyards. The threat from these fires is not new on Mount Desert Island. The great "fire of '47" burned more than 17,000 acres of forest in Acadia National Park and other parts of Mount Desert Island. It destroyed over 250 homes, hotels, and other buildings. The same threat is still with us. The potential for destruction is even greater than in 1947, largely because in the past several years it has become more fashionable to build homes with wooden exterior walls and wooden shingle roofs, deep in the woods, and landscape with trees and shrubs close to the house.
The reasons for wildland fires are many. Dry conditions create a greater potential for wildland fires, but the increasing number of people living in the interface can also contribute to the increase in fires. More homeowners using barbecue grills, burning debris piles, or using small engines without spark arrestors can, and do, contribute to the number of interface fires. Not all fires start in the wildland and progress to the interface. Some start at the interface and move into the wildlands.
Acadia National Park is doing several things to mitigate the dangers of living in the interface.
- Each year the park fields a four-person hazard fuel crew to carry out manual reduction on identified fuel concentrations in high human use areas, remove fuel loadings around park structures and create fuel breaks around selected park facilities and along the park boundary. Additional work on clearing fuel breaks is contracted out with local companies.
- The park conducts an active educational program to inform homeowners about the precautions they can take to protect their home and preserve the environment.
Most of the precautions homeowners can take are simple:
- Choose a fire-safe location.
- Design and build fire-safe structures.
- Stay on guard with good fire-safe landscaping and home maintenance procedures.
The first two of these precautions are focused on building a home—e.g., not building on a slope, providing a road wide enough for emergency vehicles, and using Firewise principles in home design.
The third precaution applies to protecting both new and existing structures, such as storing firewood away from the home, cleaning out gutters, keeping tree limbs from overhanging the roof, and creating 30 feet of open space around the structures.
These are just a few of many precautions that can be taken to protect a home in the wildland/urban interface. For a detailed look at more ways to protect the wildland/urban interface visit the .
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