The University of Colorado picked up our recent IJWF publication as telling an interesting story and offering a good example of the relevance of CU research to people throughout Colorado! The press release, which is currently shown on CU’s homepage, starts:
Most homeowners are willing to take part in cost-sharing that helps pay for wildfire risk mitigation on their properties, but some of those with the highest wildfire risk are the least likely to participate in those programs, according to a collaborative study by the University of Colorado Boulder and partnering institutions.
Past studies have shown that people who think their properties are vulnerable to wildfires are more open to taking actions that lower the risk, like clearing vegetation around their homes to create a defensible space.
In the new study, published in the International Journal of Wildland Fire, the researchers looked not only at perceived wildfire risk but also at how a professional rated the wildfire risk on individual properties. They found that people whose risk was rated higher by the professional were less likely to participate in cost-share programs for mitigation than those with lower assessed risk.
Read the rest of the press release here. The referenced paper is published here. If you have issues accessing the paper, please get in touch with James.