Two-thirds of Maine's population or about 780,000 residents live in the "wildland-urban interface.” In these areas structures intermingle with natural vegetation, and wildfire threatens lives, homes, and property.
The Maine Forest Service’s Division of Forest Protection established a Wildland-Urban Interface Committee in 2004 to facilitate completion of Community Wildfire Protections Plans in these areas. More than 4,500 homes were assessed to determine their risk factors. Of the homes surveyed, 88 percent were at “extreme” or “high” risk of ignition in a wildfire because of fuels buildup.
