In this age of climatic and financial uncertainty it becomes increasingly important to balance
the cost benefits and risk of wildfire management. In the United States increased wildland
fire activity over the last 15 years has resulted in drastic damage and loss of life. An
associated rapid increase in fire management costs has consumed higher portions of budgets of
public entities involved in wildfire management challenging their ability to fulfill other
responsibilities. Increased public scrutiny highlights the need to improve wildland fire
management for cost effectiveness. This book closely examines the development of basic wildfire
suppression cost models for the United States and their application to a wide range of settings
from informing incident decision making to programmatic review. The book also explores emerging
trends in suppression costs and introduces new spatially explicit cost models to account for
characteristics of the burned landscape. Finally it discusses how emerging risk assessment
tools can be better informed by integrating management cost models with wildfire simulation
models and values at risk. Economics of Wildfire Management is intended for practitioners as a
reference guide. Advanced-level students and researchers will also find the book invaluable.
