Publication Date

Summer 2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Studies

Advisor

Will Russel; Kate Wilkin; Amanda Stasiewicz

Abstract

Consecutive years of devastating home losses to wildfire indicate the need for home fuel reduction and construction improvements. Existing research correlates house survival with modifications to the home ignition zone (HIZ) and is required in high fire hazard areas of California (CA). Mitigations, designed to disrupt continuous fuel patterns, (e.g., separating surface and canopy fuels), can also introduce ecological changes that can alter overall code compliance. Previous compliance studies used respondent and agency-generated data, which may lack accuracy. Assessing additional house and ecological features (e.g., canopy cover and construction) would improve prediction of compliance, but these relationships are poorly studied. I assessed mitigation compliance (CA code and two voluntary standards) of 176 participating residences in 2022 – 2023 in five CA locations with high fire hazards. I used generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMM) to analyze the relationship of vegetative canopy cover with roof and gutter debris buildup for Coast Range and Sierra Nevada forests. Roof and gutter fuel accumulations were both significantly predicted by increasing canopy cover and roof surface roughness, (e.g., smooth metal vs. wavy tile roofs). Gutter guards significantly lowered fuels in gutters. The effect of canopy cover on roof debris significantly interacted with HIZ distance; with canopy nearest to structures mattering most. Roof debris only marginally changed with the presence of other complex roof features (e.g., skylights). This research advances the current understanding of HIZ mitigation implementation in CA and better defines its relation to HIZ ecology.

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