Fires at Wildland-urban interface in an observation plot in Hungary

The Wildland- urban interface (WUI) is an area, where houses meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland vegetation. The identification of these areas is not yet present in all countries. Although scientific research on this topic is still incomplete in Hungary, there are already initiatives and some results to identify WUI areas and analyse their risks. Authors examine the risk of WUI fires from two directions. On the one hand, wildland is a flammable fuel, so wildfires pose a direct threat to the built environment. The reason for this threat is that the residential buildings are located along the forest, which, as a combustible material, provides an opportunity for the spread of fire. This allows the fire to spread from the wildland vegetation to the populated area, endangering human life and property. Authors examine the characteristics of WUI fires in Hungary through analysis of observation plots. In the paper, authors present the direct and indirect interface WUI and analyse the risk of WUI fires by using GIS spatial analyses. Authors also analyse the combustible fuel, the number of fires, and the integrating housing density in the observation plot. Finally, they are preparing a legislative proposal to prevent WUI fires.