Date of Award
4-2012
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Geography
First Advisor
Dr. Lisa DeChano-Cook
Second Advisor
Dr. Gregory Veeck
Third Advisor
Dr. Lucius Hallet IV
Keywords
Fire prevention, fire ecology, wildfire, hazards, geography, Wyoming, risk
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The research examines significant differences in wildfire home protection activities between local and seasonal residents in Teton County, Wyoming. Significant differences of wildfire home protection activities results in hazard vulnerability to a whole community. An extensive literature review establishes the purpose and hypothesis of the research to understand if seasonal residents are creating wildfire hazard vulnerability to local residents. A survey-based methodology using nominal YES/NO questions and ordinal Likert-type scale questions were used to understand residents past wildfire experiences, perceptions on the effectiveness of home protection activities, and if residents actually do these activities. Statistical analysis revealed that seasonal residents do not create wildfire hazard vulnerability to residents. Other significant results include residents' reasons for not completing home protection activities and what how outside agencies could help residents complete these activities. Researcher observations and experiences do indicate that wildfire vulnerability does exist to some extent between residents and provides recommendations to reduce the risk.
Recommended Citation
Kanclerz, Lucas, "Understanding Wildfire Hazard Vulnerability of Residents in Teton County, Wyoming" (2012). Masters Theses. 53.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/53