The customized software program (left) asks assessors to evaluate a series of pertinent categories, featuring fill-in and drop-down answer formats. When all fields have been completed, the home is assigned a score and relative hazard level. Once multiple homes in an area have been assessed, firefighters can use a map that shows roads with home locations, addresses, and hazard levels on one screen (right). Selecting an individual address calls up details for that property.

Plenty of people chasing the American Dream have looked for it at the edge of civilization. Building a home with a backyard where the deer and the antelope play has its advantages. But over time, what firefighters call "the interface" keeps moving—that place where human development ends and Mother Nature takes over. The interface is where the balance of man versus fire becomes a very tricky proposition indeed.

It used to be that containing and controlling a wildland blaze was the firefighters' sole focus—because if it started in the wildland, it usually stayed there. But as our dwellings move further into the wild, fighting fires has become a delicate balancing act between fire containment and structural preservation. And with the added variable of structural preservation, perhaps the most valuable tool a firefighter can have is information.

A prime location—for people and fires

Sisters, Oregon is a prime example of the interface. This idyllic town, a gateway to the high-desert vacation mecca of Central Oregon, is surrounded by ponderosa pine forest, sparkling rivers, and craggy mountains. The town is named for the Three Sisters, a trio of Cascade Range peaks that loom over the area. Once a sleepy ranching town, it has become a combination of a tourist oasis and a "lifestyle destination." The main street, with its Western facades, attracts people passing through. But with plenty of available land, clean mountain air, and 300-plus days of annual sunshine, Sisters also draws people looking for a great place to live. Today there are about 4,000 residences sprinkled across a 200 square-mile area surrounding the town.

Unfortunately, wildland fires are a too-frequent hazard where the houses meet the forest. In 2006, a fire covering 9,500 acres threatened Sisters and outlying areas. A convoy of firefighting teams converged on the area to help out.

"We had hundreds of fire trucks fighting the wildland portions of the fire, and 60 trucks just dealing with structures," recounts Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District (SCSFD) Chief Taylor Robertson. "And we were behind the curve on getting good information to those trucks dealing with areas near housing. I was trying to get copies of maps to the managers of the fire teams; I ended up spending way too much time on the computer and not enough out working."

Better information for better decisions

As Robertson well knows, having information on the property where you're working is crucial to a firefighter. If you're considering how to protect a dwelling, you also want to know whether it's a good enough bet to devote effort to it. How is the driveway access? Is the roof made of non-combustible material, or fire-fueling shakes? Where is the nearest water source?

In other words, "Is this one we want to defend, or do we move on to one where we'll have a better chance?" he says.

After the fire was finally controlled and extinguished, Robertson took stock of the situation, knowing it would come up again eventually. He decided that the way to handle such a situation was to have the information compiled ahead of time, and able to be easily accessed and distributed when needed. What he was really looking for was a data interface for the wildland interface. But how do you do that?