Wildfire managers and policy makers in Oregon and Washington often evaluate a community’s wildfire risk based on environmental factors such as the probability of wildfire exposure or the number of threatened homes and buildings. They can also take into account a community’s social vulnerability, or a set of demographic characteristics that includes household income, educational attainment and racial and ethnic minority status.

For the first time, researchers at Oregon State University have created a tool that integrates both social vulnerability and wildfire hazard measurements to help inform the distribution of resources needed to reduce wildfire risk. The study found, for example, that more than 450 communities in Oregon and Washington face increased wildfire risk when their social vulnerability was included in risk assessments. Communities such as Warm Springs in Central Oregon and Mosier in the Columbia Gorge with high levels of social vulnerability, for example, could be prioritized for educational outreach, home hardening or fuels reduction programs. 

Joining us for more details are Andy McEvoy, a faculty research assistant in the College of Forestry at OSU.