Fire departments across the country, including here in Harford County, are increasingly called upon to respond to Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires, including brush, grass, forest fires or other outdoor fires. You may believe that we wouldn’t have a WUI problem, and that WUI fires only occur in western states, but more than 46 million residences in 70,000 communities in the U.S. are at risk for WUI fires. The recent Fire Weather Advisories posted for our area have helped to draw attention to this community wide fire risk.
The WUI is the zone of transition between unoccupied land and human development. It is the line, area or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. Communities adjacent to and surrounded by wildland are at varying degrees of risk from wildfires.
During April, the United States Fire Administration is drawing attention to these fire risks and providing resources and information to help our community learn about the WUI, the risks and what you can do to prevent fires as well as keep your neighborhoods safer if there is a fire.
Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is the first Saturday in May (May 1, 2021). This national campaign encourages people and organizations everywhere to come together on a single day to take action to raise awareness and reduce wildfire risks. Since in-person gatherings are limited or on-hold in many places, this year’s Prep Day is focused on what residents can do on and around their home to help protect against the threat of wildfires.
Please take a few minutes to review the information at the links embedded above, and make your home and your community a safer place!
