Assessing the cost of fuel reduction treatments: A critical review

The basic costs of the operations for implementing fuel reduction treatments are used to evaluate treatment effectiveness, select among alternatives, estimate total project costs, and build national program strategies. However, a review of the literature indicates that there is questionable basis for many of the general estimates used to date. Different approaches to estimating cost have been used. Four methods are reviewed with discussion of the appropriate applications to fuel reduction cost analysis. Critical gaps identified in the understanding of operations costs include business overhead, repair and maintenance reserves, and estimates of the cost of risk. Future analyses of fuel treatments should be cautious in extrapolating cost numbers from the existing literature.