In recent decades, the largest wildfires occurring each year have been characterized by their increasing intensity, severity, and scale. Moreover, these fires are increasingly impacting communities and other wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas, i.e., areas where vegetation and infrastructure coexist extensively. The economic and social direct and indirect impacts caused by wildfires in these areas have profound effects on citizens and society, highlighting the loss of private buildings (e.g., dwellings) or critical social infrastructure (e.g., industrial facilities, water treatment plants), loss of human lives, or even the destruction of entire communities engulfed by flames. Despite the acknowledged relevance of WUI fires, the existing knowledge on this subject remains limited. Scientific developments have only gained prominence in the last 20 years, and the complexity associated with WUI scenarios poses a significant challenge to the scientific community.

This Research Topic welcomes any work contributing to scientific knowledge in the WUI context. While the following are examples of potentially publishable areas of study, the collection remains open to other ideas that align with the WUI fire risk, including but not limited to:
• Fire behaviour at the WUI or the vegetation continuum that may affect the WUI;
• Fire safety and behaviour in buildings and urban areas;
• Fire risk studies in industrial facilities or linear infrastructures (e.g., roads, power lines);
• Environmental studies, such as smoke emission and dispersion or water contamination;
• Studies involving the protection of animals and agricultural facilities from wildfires;
• Economic, sociologic, political, and regulatory studies;
• Geographic information systems and remote sensing;
• Development of operational issues such as evacuation procedures and people behaviour;
• Case studies and episodes of fire affecting the WUI.

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Frontiers in Built Environment

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