Preliminary results indicate that the PIRS™ method is generalizable and can be applied to the wildfire hazard with small methodological and contextual modifications. Wildland fire in the WUI presents a unique analytical challenge due to the dynamics of fuel (natural and built environment) variables interacting with climate, topography, and human variables (e.g., land use, development patterns).
Research Summary
Strengthening Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Resilience through Better Planning: The PIRS™ for Wildfire Process
This progress essay is based on a poster presented at the meeting of Cal Poly’s Wildland Urban Interface Fire Institute’s Advisory Board in April 2023.
Strengthening WUI Fire Resilience through Better Planning: The PIRS™ for Wildfire Process
Seven of the ten most destructive fires in California have occurred in the last five years2, and one in four Californians lives in an area considered high-risk for wildfires3. These problems can be addressed by focusing on local planning and land use decisions that are guided by a community’s “network of plans.”
A Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ for Wildfire Hazards Focused on the Wildlandurban Interface (WUI)
We are applying the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS) method in partnership with several California jurisdictions that are subject to wildfire hazards. Originally developed with a focus on flooding, the PIRS™ method enables the spatial evaluation of a community’s network of plans to strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to hazards. The process aims to harmonize a community’s network of plans by systematically assessing policies and facilitating their adjustment to improve the focus and coordination of plans on building resilience in the most vulnerable locations.
A WUI-based Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™
To address the many-plan-little-integration dilemma, this project focuses on applying the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS) method to California jurisdictions that are subject to the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fire hazard.
Applying a Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard to Practice: Experiences of Nashua, NH, Norfolk, VA, Rockport, TX
We chronicle and evaluate the impacts of the Resilience Scorecard™ application process from the local prospective in three communities vulnerable to flooding and climate change.
Application of Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard: Lessons Learned from the City of Norfolk, VA
This case study reviews the City of Norfolk’s experience in application of the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard. Norfolk was the first demonstration community to apply the Scorecard.
