Mapping Fire Pathways

A recent study has found that the land use policies required by the SOAR laws also make cities more resilient to wildfire. This finding came from a study by Julia Field, a recent graduate from UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management.

Ms. Field modeled wildfire behavior and found SOAR-protected farmland located in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) acts as a buffer that can “corral fires” in the wildlands and keep them away from cities. Her research confirmed that fire pathways consistently avoid the moist soils and row crops of farmland and orchards. Since these irrigated lands are harder for fire to travel through than undeveloped natural vegetation, simulated fire paths tend to avoid them. Instead, fire follows lower-resistance routes through wildlands where fires are a natural and necessary part of the ecology.

Ms. Field hopes that future studies will build upon her research. It is consistent with the Los Angeles and Ventura County Woolsey Fire After Action Review recommendation: “Address the impact of long-distance fire storm ember spotting through education and an emphasis on using layered buffer zones, including appropriate vegetation mitigations, improving soil moisture, and structure hardening techniques.”

We join Ms. Field in encouraging the furtherance of this land use strategy. We know there are multiple benefits to protecting farmland. That it can also increase wildfire resilience may incentivize other areas to preserve their farmland as SOAR has done in Ventura County, and make our world a safer place.

You can read Julia Field’s study at this link.