NFPA’s Wildland Fire Operations Division provides information and resources through the Firewise Communities Program and Fire Adapted Communities initiative (both co-sponsored by the USDA Forest Service), education, training, conferences, workshops and courses to communities in high risk areas to help residents reduce their risk of wildfire damage to homes and property.
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A few days ago, one of our longstanding "Firewise sparkplugs" sent me an email announcing her new blog, The Moderate Botanist. Helen McGranahan of the Silver Star community near the Black Hills explains the creation of this online resource this way:
"Custer County Conservation District hosted
a forum earlier this week called A
Landowner Conversation: Beetles, Fuels and Forestry.They asked me to do a presentation on our
Subdivision's Firewise project. Since I absolutely hate public speaking I
took the easy way out and made a video. It went over quite well.
Then it was requested that I post it online."
And thus a new blog is born! In addition to being tickled at Helen's creativity in avoiding public speaking, I was pretty excited about her video story about Silver Star. Check it out in her blog post here. Just under 11 minutes, it focuses on how neighbors pulled together, with little to no outside help, to dramatically reduce the community's risk from wildfire.
We wanted to share this video,
especially for those that have wildfires. This is a great video of the Spanish
Air Force 43 Grupo. The video is a compilation of scenes during Air Force operations to combat wildfires in Spain. The cockpit shots really give you a perspective on
water scoop and fire drop operations, including the very turbulent air currents from the
fires.
Here at NFPA we put a lot of effort toward wildfire mitigation and management. Brush, grass or forest fires don’t have to be disasters. The Firewise Communities program encourages local solutions for safety by involving
homeowners in taking individual responsibility for preparing their homes from
the risk of wildfire.
As a Society of American Forester member, I came across an interesting article titled 'What is Happening in Our Forest?' written by Steve Wilent in the latest Forestry Source publication. The interesting part about the article is how a environmentalists are beginning to see the value of active forest management (conservation) versus a 'hands off' preservation approach to the management of our forests.
This idea of 'active management' has great application in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Often times when communities in the WUI are approached about wildfire mitigation the immediate response is:
'we like the way the forest and vegetation looks'
'we live here because of our love of the forest and natural surrounding and we don't want it to change'
'I am an environmentalist and you are recommending that I remove the vegetation and forest'
'wildfire mitigation techniques like Firewise landscaping is contrary to our deeply held preservation ethic'.
This notion is reinforced in community ordinances, covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC & R's) where homeowners are required to seek permission from authorities to remove trees that are 4 inches and greater in their backyard - sometimes the 'rules' are inforced without thinking about the forest health and wildfire risk potential.
For more information on wildland mitigation strategies visit Fire Adapted Communities. For further information on Firewise landscaping and construction check out this information pamphlet. What you will learn is that Firewise is not advocating 'moonscaping', but rather sustainable neighborhoods in a fire driven ecosystem.
This past week both Faith Berry (Southwest 1 Firewise Advisor) and I visited the Orange County Fire Authority (California) where we met Sonja Powell (Assistant Fire Marshal) and Nick Pivaroff (Senior Fire Inspector) to discuss the Firewise Communities/USA recognition program.
During the course of the conversation Sonja directed us to their wonderful Ready, Set, Go! website. One of the more interesting sections that is complimentary to Firewise can be found in the Ready section under vegetation management. The video on plant separation is particularly helpful as it provides great explanations on vertical and horizontal plant separation. The application of these principles can really affect the vertical and horizontal continuity of vegetation in one's yard. Following these recommendations can significantly reduce home and surrounding landscape ignitability.
I recently spoke to Fran Santagata about some of the success stories her community of Roxborough Park has been working on. Roxborough Park has been a recognized Firewise Communities/USA® site since 2007. More than 200 thousand dollars have been invested in wildland fire mitigation activities over this period in this community. This includes grants, in-kind volunteer hours and other funding sources. The community is home to 3,000 residents and located in Douglas County Colorado.
Fran as a member of the Roxborough Fire Mitigation Committee pointed me to this wonderful YouTube™ clip that their committee published last year. The mini-documentary is about their Firewise Evacuation Exercise. All the components of this documentary speak to the idea of a Fire Adapted Community where a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP); Evacuation planning (Ready-Set-Go!); fuel reduction treatments; cooperative fire agreements; local capacity and the Firewise Communites/USA® regognition program is discussed. Enjoy!
Every year,
the USDA Forest Service spends an extraordinary amount of money fighting
wildfires. The budget for these activities in 2012 was nearly $2 billion
dollars, the bulk of which went to fire suppression costs — aviation, engines,
firefighting crews, agency personnel, and more — to protect threatened
communities, people and property. Soon, the federal government will announce
its 2013 budget for wildfire management activities, and the price tag, no doubt, won't be any less than it was last year.
According to Molly Mowery in her latest Wildfire Watch column in the January/February 2013 issue of NFPA Journal, one of the problems
associated with this very large number is that it’s often interpreted as the
“cost” of wildfire, when in fact it’s more like the tip of the iceberg of what
wildfire actually costs.
In an era that strives to be more fiscally responsible, Molly says decision makers must understand that costly wildfire disasters and long-term budget draining recoveries can be pre-empted by effective planning and pre-fire measures.
Read the full article (and check out Molly's video below) to learn more about these costs, and why knowing the
true amount can ultimately help wildfire prevention efforts across the country.
When I first heard about mastication the first thing that
came to mind was chewing something yummy.
In the fire prevention arena mastication is the process of “chewing up”
vegetation with machinery. This is just
another means of utilizing a tool to reduce fuels in communities. I have learned about a variety of types of
equipment utilized by communities and agencies to get the job completed. For those of you who did not get the shiny
piece of equipment that you were looking for under your tree, I am including
some YouTube™ examples of this type of heavy equipment hard at work.
Video 1: Masticator with reticulating arm working in Virginia City Highlands outside of Reno Nevada. This type of masticator can be manipulated easily to only chew up certain clumps of vegetation and works well in areas where communities only want to select certain clumps of bushes to be removed and others to remain.
Video 2: A masticator with rubber tracks working in Lake Tahoe California.
If your community is considering utilizing this type of heavy equipment
for a fuels reduction project, first contact your local land management
agency regarding environmental compliance requirements. Some types of heavy equipment may not be
utilized close to streams and rivers or in other sensitive plant community areas. Your state forester can also help you with
information about these requirements. For information vist the National Association
of State Foresters website. For information about Firewise Communities/USA® successes visit this weblink.
During this time of the year, we are focused on the holidays and not thinking about the spring days ahead. Before you know it, it will be gardening time. Do you have a list of things you want in your garden next year? We think you should check your list twice! NFPA’s Firewise Regional Advisor, Faith Berry, reminds us to visit the Firewise website and check out some of our safety tips to build a garden that is both beautiful and safe!
Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for another great safety tip and video from us! Download the "12 Days of Firewise" Safety tip sheet, which provides easy steps you can follow as you deck the halls this holiday season and throughout the year!
The Oklahoma State Agricultural Extension service as a part of their Master Gardener program recently published three Firewise® YouTube® movie clips. This three part Firewise series includes:
Firewise landscaping
Firewise foundation plantings
Landscape maintenance to reduce fire load
In the second segment Oklahoma Gardening host Kim Toscano discusses ways to protect your home and landscape from wildfire through the use of selective planting. Kim discusses some plants to avoid, as well as introduces several types of fire resistant plants that are applicable to Oklahoma. More gardening tips can be found on the Oklahoma Gardening Youtub webpage.
As much of the country struggles with high heat, unending drought conditions, high winds and lightening storms, there are more wildfires than ever before popping up in states all across the U.S. As a result, fire service resources are being stretched thin. Hylton Haynes, a Firewise associate project manager, recently sat down with Pulse Network to talk about NFPA’s Firewise Communities Program and what we, as individual homeowners and neighbors can do to help lessen our risk for wildfire damage to our homes and neighborhoods.
What you do today can make a difference tomorrow. Watch Hylton’s video to learn more.
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