Living with wildfire in Santa Fe: 2021 Data Report

University of Colorado Boulder; USDA Forest Service; US Bureau of Land Management; Wildfire Research Center; City of Santa Fe Fire Department;
By: , and 

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Abstract

The City of Santa Fe is well known for arts, food, and architecture, but it also faces significant risk of wildfire. In 2020, the City of Santa Fe partnered with the Wildfire Research (WiRē) team with the goal of better understanding the needs of residents within the study area and their level of support for wildfire risk mitigation programs. The resulting project centers on two types of property-level data: rapid wildfire risk assessment data and household survey data. We followed the WiRē Rapid Wildfire Risk Assessment (WiRē RA) protocol, which measures parcel-level risk as the sum of a set of 13 attributes related to access to the property, background fuels and topography, vegetation near the home, and building materials. This report summarizes the results of the study. Overall, the study indicated a community that was engaged in preparing for wildfire yet had more that could be done to reduce its risk. Common architectural styles led to generally hardened structures, and respondents reported many risk reduction activities, yet most properties were found to have significant vulnerabilities related to limited defensible space and combustible materials near and attached to dwellings. Although many survey respondents did not perceive these same vulnerabilities on their own properties, survey results nonetheless demonstrated widespread interest for programs intended to reduce wildfire risk at the landscape, community, and individual parcel scales.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype Other Government Series
Title Living with wildfire in Santa Fe: 2021 Data Report
DOI 10.2737/RMRS-RN-100
Year Published 2024
Language English
Publisher USDA Forest Service
Contributing office(s) Fort Collins Science Center
Description vi, 129 p.
Country United States
State New Mexico
City Santa Fe
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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