…A 2009 study found the state has nearly 200,000 residences in its wildland-urban interface – defined by the study’s author, Montana-based Headwaters Economics, as private forestlands within 500 meters of public forestlands. Washington’s level of development in wildland-urban areas, according to the study, is the second-highest (21 percent) among the 11 Western states.
Defending homes in the wildland-urban interface is by far the priciest part of fighting large wildfires, accounting for 50 to 95 percent of total suppression costs, according to a 2006 federal audit. The mere presence of those homes also drives wildland firefighting policy, turning many naturally caused fires that might otherwise be allowed to run their course – often to the long-term benefit of the forest – into ones that must be suppressed to protect the houses.
“Only about 2 percent of these (naturally ignited) fires are allowed to burn now, and the main reason is there are homes in the way,” said Ray Rasker, executive director of Headwaters Economics.…