The impacts of treated landscapes on suppression cost effectiveness

Abstract

In this paper we will focus on the role of treated landscapes on suppression costs and suppression effectiveness. We will begin with a framework outlining the pathways through which treatments could influence wildfire management decisions and fire outcomes, rooted in treatment impacts on fire behaviour. We will then synthesize several emerging research threads seeking to characterize treatment impacts on suppression costs and effectiveness: (1) a simulation-based approach combining stochastic fire modelling with statistical cost modelling; (2) an econometric approach analysing historical suppression costs; and (3) a case study approach using spatial fire perimeter and fire line construction data to quantify fire line effectiveness. To conclude we will outline how these threads can be woven with improvements in fire and fuels modelling to better characterize spatiotemporal trends and trade-offs related to fuel treatment and suppression.