Firewise Forum - Social Issues and Wildfire

Moving Into Harm's Way

The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder recently held its 31st annual Research and Applications Workshop. As one of the session presenters, I discussed the trends of people in the U.S. moving in large numbers into harm's way -- in this case, into formerly wild and rural (and sometimes agricultural) lands that are prone to wildfire. The title of the presentation referred to "amenity migration" -- the fairly recent phenomenon of people moving to areas where they have the benefits of natural beauty, proximity to beaches or forests or mountains, and access to recreation. I found out some interesting things about growth and migration while preparing to present.

Due to the Workshop's restriction on PowerPoint (to limit lengthy presentations and encourage dialogue), I prepared only one visual aid, a color image on an overhead transparency. I used a map that veterans of Firewise Communities Workshops have seen before. It's the U.S. Census Bureau map of the population change (by county) from 1990 to 2000. In our workshop series, we used this map to talk about "where is everybody going?" We circled several of the fastest-growing counties and noted how many of them were in well-known (to wildfire junkies, at least) fire-prone areas or fire-adapted ecosystems. Interested to see what the latest information was about population growth, I visited the Census website and downloaded lists of the 100 fastest-growing counties from 2000-2005 -- by number as well as by percentage. It was in the report about 1990-2000 growth that a statement of fact stopped me in my tracks. From 1990 to 2000, the U.S. added more people than in any other decade in the country's history -- including the "baby boom" of 1950-1960.

Using this image and data in a brief presentation got a lot of people in the room talking. Many were surprised to learn about the very real growth pressures occurring in so many different parts of the country. Others learned for the first time about wildfire occurrence in states like Florida or Arkansas. While the session was supposed to explore what residents of WUI areas should do about the fire problem, it ended up focusing on how national, state and local policy might be modified to take hazards into account BEFORE development takes place.

Many factors account for the migration towards amenities and often into harm's way, including technology that allows workers in our increasingly knowledge-based economy to work anywhere, healthier lifestyles that draw people towards recreation, and active "retirees" who have worked and saved to finally have that dream home in the mountains or on the shore. Developers understand these factors and are marketing amenity-based communities more than ever before. Perhaps it is time for more extensive national discussions on the issue of where we build and how Firewise concepts -- and other disaster-safety concepts -- can be marketed as a smart practice for those who want to live compatibly with nature.

posted by Michele Steinberg at 7/25/2006 04:49:00 PM