An economic evaluation of public and organized wildfire detection in Wisconsin

Early detection is the first step toward effective wildfire control. This s tudy used cost-benefit techniques to evaluate the economic efficiency of fi xed lookouts for wildfire detection in Wisconsin. Costs and benefits were a ssessed relative to a baseline scenario of public detection alone. Analyses revealed that fixed lookouts were economically efficient in aggregate; how ever, their performance varied considerably among administrative areas and among lookouts. Twenty-five percent of the fixed lookouts detected the majo rity of wildfires and accounted for virtually all suppression cost savings and property damage prevention. Additional analyses showed that fixed looko uts and the public saw wildfire that were significantly different. Specific ally, the public tended to detect wildfires in developed areas at a relativ ely early stage, whereas fixed lookouts spotted fires in more remote, spars ely populated regions. These findings suggest that opportunities exist to e nhance wildfire detection efficiency and cost effectiveness by selectively adjusting lookout use.