Fuel treatments to preserve old forest structure can reduce WUI fire risk: Research Brief

Ager et al. used models to compare fuel treatments designed to protect residential structures with treatments designed to meet forest health and ecological restoration goals in a 16,000 hectare study area in Oregon. They combined burn probability modeling with risk analysis to measure the effects of fuel treatments on resource values and fire behavior, both within and outside of the treatment units. 
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Ager, Alan A., Nicole M. Vaillant, and Mark A. Finney. 2010. A comparison of landscape fuel treatment strategies to mitigate wildland fire risk in the urban interface and preserve old forest structure. Forest Ecology and Management 259(8): 1556-1570.