Louisiana’s Wildland Urban Interface Program
In the past ten years more the 50 families across our state have lost their homes to wildland fire and more than 1,000 outbuildings destroyed.
Unfortunately this number is growing as more families seek the benefits of rural homes. This area, where development meets wildland, is identified as the Wildland Urban Interface and is fast becoming the most hazardous of both wildland and structural firefighting. While we do not yet suffer the home losses our sister states have experienced if the problem is not addressed, it is just a matter of time, when not if!
In 2000, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF) recognized this threat to our homeowners in rural communities, or on the outskirts of cities growing into the Wildland environment, and established the Louisiana WUI Program in order to prevent the ignition of homes and structures during a wildland fire event. It is the goal of LDAF to prevent all home and structure ignitions from wildland fire. Research has shown that simple precautions can prevent most if not all home or structure ignitions even in the event of a wildland fire occurrence in close proximity.
LDAF has adopter the slogans “WILDFIRE: The Next Storm” and “Prevention: A Home’s Best Defense from WILDFIRE” as a means of alerting Louisiana homeowners of the threat. In a very real sense wildfire may well be the next catastrophic storm faced by our rural homeowners. Prevention is absolutely the best defense that homeowners can provide for themselves.
Recognizing that in many cases homeowners across Louisiana do not realize the threat, LDAF works with partners at every level of the state to educate homeowner on the steps they can take to protect their homes from wildland fire. The Louisiana Firewise Program is part of a national program recognizing those communities working with LDAF in protecting the homes in their community from loss. As funds become available, LDAF provides funding to communities and Fire Departments to address concerns identified as “increasing the potential of home ignition during a wildland fire.”
For additional information or if you are a homeowner and wish to know more about how you can protect your home, please contact the LDAF WUI/Firewise officials listed below.
Communities interested in becoming a “Firewise USA Community” or applying for funding are also urged to contact the LDAF WUI/Firewise officials listed below.