Impacts of Wildfires on Highway Assets [TechBrief]

Details

• Creators:
  Ram, Prashant ; Lopez, Sarah ; Stempihar, Jeff ; Smith, Kurt
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology
• Contributors:
  Golalipour, Amir
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Disaster Preparedness Disaster Resilience Pavements Wildfires
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-HRT-26-005
• Resource Type:
  Brief
• Right Statement:
  Public Domain
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Contracting Officer:
  Golalipour, Amir
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology
• Abstract:
  Over the past several decades, the United States has seen a steady increase in the intensity and extent of wildfires, especially in the Western States. Figure 1 presents data on the number of wildfires and total acres burned in the United States between 1981 and 2021 (National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) n.d.). While the number of wildfires shows a relatively constant trend, the total acres burned over a 3-yr period shows a steady increase. According to recent data, the largest and most destructive wildfires have mostly occurred since 2000 (Legislative Analyst’s Office 2020). Wildfires cost agencies and the public billions of dollars in economic loss due to property damage, environmental damage, fire suppression efforts, cleanup efforts, and litigation (Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 2022). Specific to transportation infrastructure, wildfires have destroyed or caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, and drainage structures. In several cases, State and local agencies have been forced to close roads and highways, sometimes for extended periods. Detours from these closures can be lengthy, and existing pavements on the detour routes may not be adequately designed or in adequate condition to handle the volume and weight of additional loadings. A secondary hazard is postfire flooding. Wildfires leave areas vulnerable to decreased vegetation, decreased soil infiltration capacity and stability, and the potential for hydrophobic layers— all of which increase flooding potential. It is not uncommon for the aftereffects of wildfires to result in 1,000-yr floods within the first 1 to 2 yr after a wildfire when combined with high-intensity rain (Fraser, Chester, and Underwood 2020). Federal, State, and local agencies alike are increasingly recognizing the effect of wildfires on pavement and roadway infrastructure. Much has been learned in the past several years regarding the impacts of wildfire events on infrastructure assets as well as the planning, management, and recovery needs for those assets. The purposes of this TechBrief are to accomplish the following: Document the current state of knowledge on the direct and indirect impacts of wildfires on pavement systems based on a comprehensive literature review. Summarize lessons learned from interviews conducted with local, State, and Federal agencies on their experiences in dealing with the impacts of wildfires. Identify knowledge gaps and research needs.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  693JJ319D000023
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:814c961b01183226cdea7d29b370be19a611f03dd95a763a1ab90992a5deeb7b71acc6dd4743d19b9dfc82af58f950d26fef2b633bc2514f3a48fa25e8d6d9d9
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90109/dot_90109_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.51 MB ]