SECTION 4: RISK ASSESSMENT
Economic Condition of the Jurisdiction
Wildfires can have significant short-term and long-term effects on the local economy. Wildfires, and extreme fire danger, may reduce recreation and tourism in and near the fires. If aesthetics are impaired, local property values can decline. Extensive fire damage to trees can significantly alter the timber supply, both through a short-term surplus from timber salvage and a longer-term decline while the trees regrow. Water supplies can be degraded by post-fire erosion and stream sedimentation. Wildfires can also have positive effects on local economies. Positive effects come from economic activity generated in the community during fire suppression and post-fire rebuilding. These may include forestry support work, such as building fire lines and performing other defenses, or providing firefighting teams with food, ice, and amenities such as temporary shelters and washing machines. Wildfire events may cause issues with public confidence because they have very visible impacts on the community. Public confidence in the jurisdiction’s governance may be influenced by: • The jurisdiction’s actions taken pre -disaster to mitigate and prepare for impacts, including the amount of public education provided
Public Confidence in the Jurisdiction’s Governance
• The jurisdiction’s efforts to provide warning to residents
• The jurisdiction’s actions taken to respond to the event
• The jurisdiction’s actions taken to recover from the impacts and return impacted communities to the same or better state before the wildfire occurred
HAZARD SUMMARY BY JURISDICTION The following table summarizes wildfire hazard risk by jurisdiction. Wildfire warning time and duration do not vary by jurisdiction. Spatial extent ratings were based on the proportion of area within the WUI; all jurisdictions have at least 50% of their area in the WUI and were assigned a rating of 3. Impact ratings were based on fire intensity data from SWRA. Jurisdictions with significant clusters of moderate to high fire intensity were assigned a rating of 3; all other jurisdictions were assigned a rating of 2. Probability ratings were determined based on burn probability data from SWRA. Jurisdictions with clusters of moderate burn probability were assigned a rating of 3; all other jurisdictions were assigned a probability of 2.
Spatial Extent
Warning Time
Jurisdiction
Probability
Impact
Duration
Score
Priority
Wake County
3 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
3 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3.1
H M M M M M M M M M M M M
Apex Cary
2.5 2.5 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.8
Fuquay-Varina
Garner
Holly Springs Knightdale
Morrisville
Raleigh
Rolesville
Wake Forest
Wendell Zebulon
Wake County, NC Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
WSP June 2024 Page 243
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