A group of the Human Dimensions Program
Homeowners Living in Wildland/Urban Interface
This effort includes four studies. The first study, funded by the Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership, looked at how institutional arrangements (formal programs and homeowner insurance) affect incentives for homeowners living in the wildland urban interface to mitigate their risk of losing their home in a wildfire. A qualitative study conducted with Hannah Brenkert (PhD student) and Professor Nicholas Flores (University of Colorado) revealed that institutional arrangements are part of the story but informal social networks (talking with neighbors and friends) are more likely to influence what and how actions are taken when homeowners mitigate wildfire risk.Brenkert, H., P. Champ and N.Flores. 2005. “Mitigation of Wildfire Risk by Homeowners.” Res. Note RMRS-RN-25WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 9p
Many unanswered questions from the first study, prompted us to develop a survey instrument to formally explore the role of social networks on homeowners' mitigation decisions. The role of management on proximate public lands is also explored in the survey instrument. The results of this survey as well as the earlier qualitative study will be used in Hannah Brenkert's dissertation. Hannah has received an EPA Star Fellowship to work on this study for a maximum of three years.
The third study involved a unique opportunity in Colorado Springs to analyze the effect of wildfire risk on property values. The conventional wisdom among some realtors and many homeowners is that actions on private property to mitigate wildfire risk will decrease property values. Some anecdotal evidence suggested this conventional wisdom to be false but no formal analysis had ever been conducted. One reason no one has looked at this issue in a hedonic property model framework is that the necessary parcel level wildfire risk rating data were not available. The Colorado Springs fire department compiled the requisite data and made it publicly available on their website. The scientist, Dr. Geoffrey Donovan (Pacific Northwest Research Station), and Dr. David Butry (Southern Research Station) were able to use these data to look at how the variables that comprise the overall wildfire risk rating affect property values before and after this information was made publicly available on the website. We learned that variables that measure increases in wildfire risk had a positive and significant effect on housing prices before the website. This may seem counterintuitive but risk factors such as living on a ridge increase the wildfire risk rating of a parcel but offer great views. After the website, the relationship between wildfire risk rating and housing price was insignificant. After parcel level information was made publicly available on the website, wildfire risk variables such as having flammable roofing materials were found to have a negative impact on housing values. This information is particularly useful for the Colorado Springs Fire Department for evaluating and promoting their wildfire program.
Wildfire Risk and the Housing Market
Finally, and related to the third study, we will survey individuals living in the study area to learn more about their knowledge and perceptions of wildfire risk and how that affected their home purchase decision. Such information has never been collected before and the results of our study will to be very useful to organizations, such as the Colorado Springs Fire Department, that implement community based wildfire programs.
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