Cited by 46Fire effects on ecosystemsRangeland and Wildlife ManagementDisaster Management and Resilience

Assessing Watershed-Wildfire Risks on National Forest System Lands in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States

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Thompson, Matthew, Scott, Joe, Langowski, Paul, Gilbertson-Day, Julie, Haas, Jessica, Bowne, Elise·2013·Water

Abstract

Wildfires can cause significant negative impacts to water quality with resultant consequences for the environment and human health and safety, as well as incurring substantial rehabilitation and water treatment costs. In this paper we will illustrate how state-of-the-art wildfire simulation modeling and geospatial risk assessment methods can be brought to bear to identify and prioritize at-risk watersheds for risk mitigation treatments, in both pre-fire and post-fire planning contexts. Risk assessment results can be particularly useful for prioritizing management of hazardous fuels to lessen the severity and likely impacts of future wildfires, where budgetary and other constraints limit the amount of area that can be treated. Specifically we generate spatially resolved estimates of wildfire likelihood and intensity, and couple that information with spatial data on watershed location and watershed erosion potential to quantify watershed exposure and risk. For a case study location we focus on National Forest System lands in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. The Region houses numerous watersheds that are critically important to drinking water supplies and that have been impacted or threatened by large wildfires in recent years. Assessment results are the culmination of a broader multi-year science-management partnership intended to have direct bearing on wildfire management decision processes in the Region. Our results suggest substantial variation in the exposure of and likely effects to highly valued watersheds throughout the Region, which carry significant implications for prioritization. In particular we identified the San Juan National Forest as having the highest concentration of at-risk highly valued watersheds, as well as the greatest amount of risk that can be mitigated via hazardous fuel reduction treatments. To conclude we describe future opportunities and challenges for management of wildfire-watershed interactions.

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  • Global-scale studies or assessments of wildfire effects or risks on water resources are lacking.

    “Although a significant number of studies have examined such second-order fire effects on surface freshwater resources [8], most have been conducted at a local or regional scale [8-12], whereas global-scale studies do not exist.”

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Authors
Thompson, M., Scott, J., Langowski, P., Gilbertson-Day, J., Haas, J., & Bowne, E.
Affiliations
  • US Forest Service (US)
  • Pyrologix, LLC, 520 Ford St, Missoula, MT 59801, USA
Corresponding author
Thompson, Matthew
Venue
Water
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2013-07-02
Volume
5
Issue
3
Pages
945-971
ISSN
2073-4441 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1995417452
Cited by
45
References
48
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1
FWCI
4.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Water (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Rocky Mountain Research Station
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Rangeland and Wildlife Management
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disaster Management and Resilience
Keywords
wildfire risk assessment, National Forest System lands, drinking water supply protection, San Juan National Forest, Rocky Mountain region

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