Two federal agencies have teamed to create the first-ever system for linking accurate assessments of risk from wildland fires to improved building codes, standards, and practices that will help communities better resist the threat.

The proposed Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Hazard Scale addresses fires that occur where developed and undeveloped areas meet, and is described in a report, “NIST Technical Note 1748: Framework for Addressing the National Wildland Urban Interface Fire Problem—Determining Fire and Ember Exposure Zones Using a WUI Hazard Scale (2012),” by Alexander Maranghides and William Mell, released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

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