AGENCIES ASSISTS WITH HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF...

Volume 19, No. 3 – September 2005

Save the Date! 2006 National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Education Conference

– Backyards and Beyond, November 2-4, 2006, Denver, Colorado

AGENCIES ASSISTS WITH HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS

Editor’s Note – The recovery and relief operation is a fluid and ever changing one. This report summarizes information from several agencies including the USDA Forest Service and the National Interagency Fire Center as of September 15th, 2005. If you wish to see updated agency response, we encourage you to visit either www.fs.fed.us or www.nifc.gov for the most current information. In the next issue of Wildfire News & Notes we hope to continue coverage of this disaster and share personal experiences from agency personnel who helped in the region. Hurricane Katrina, a Category 4 Hurricane, made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle on August 29, 2005. Since the storm thousands of people have been killed, injured and displaced by the ferocity of the hurricane and after affects. Each day that passes since the storm, thousands of people from federal, state, county, and local jurisdictions are being deployed to assist with the disaster. The USDA is providing several interagency resources operating under two area command teams. Area Command Team (Williams-Rhodes)—This team, located in Atlanta, is providing Incident Management Team coordination for FEMA Region IV for the states of Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama. There are 10 Incident Management Teams located in Meridian, Stennis Space Center, & Moss Point, Mississippi; Mobile and Maxwell AFB, Alabama; and a planning team are located in Orlando, Florida. Area Command Team (Ribar)—This team, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is coordinating Incident Management Teams in FEMA Region VI for the states of Louisiana and Texas. There are seven Incident Management Teams assigned in New Orleans, St. Gabriel, Hammond, Camp Beauregard, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana; and San Antonio, Texas. There are 25 Type 2 crews, 23 Type 2 IA crews, 2 Type 1 crews, and 32 camp crews (84 crews total), 4 aircraft, and 2,094 overhead, including 186 FS and DOI law enforcement officers, totaling approximately 3,700 personnel on the incident as of September 15, 2005. Here are some of the highlights of work being performed by these personnel:

• Urban search and rescue responders supported by Cable’s IMT rescued a 91-year old woman from a house in New Orleans. She had been in a wheelchair, surviving on river water for 11 days. The water had been up to her neck at times during her ordeal.

• The state of North Carolina has activated one of its state teams and pre-

positioned the team for recovery efforts. They also activated three division supervisors to go to counties along the coast for assessments.

• Two IMTs have cleared over 423 miles of road for the Chickasawhay Ranger

District and Desoto National Forest recovery efforts in Mississippi. Another 150 miles are partially cleared. There is an estimated 100 miles remaining to be cleared by the dozers and saw teams. Fire danger remains a concern.

http://www.fs.fed.us

http://www.nifc.gov




• IMT (Quesinberry) has shipped more than 2,600 truckloads of water, ice,

MREs and other commodities and is providing supplies to a MASH Unit. Materiel has been shipped to 53 counties in six states over a fifteen-day period.

• IMT (Wilcock) received between 900-1,000 trailers and mobile homes at its

five sites yesterday, shipping out around 500.

• IMT (Philbin) continues to receive evacuees, with around 1,300 registering at the shelter so far. 560 were transported directly via airplane, with the remaining making their way to Phoenix requesting the services of the shelter. Downsizing plans are being developed with transition and staffing plans for shelter closure.

• IMT (Jenkins) is managing the base camp/mob center at the New Orleans

Airport. Caterers provided approximately 7,000 meals yesterday and have provided around 97,000 meals to date. The team is providing logistical support and technical advice in support of helicopter operations with the New Orleans FD.

• IMT (Thomas) supported around 800 first responders and other personnel from the American Red Cross, Meridian Hospital Group, US Marines, Hospital Construction Group, Mental Health Workers, Coastal Regional Health workers, base police, camp staff, and others. The team is expecting close to 850 people as of this date and can support an additional 700 people.

• IMT (Swed) is providing support for employee and families and trying to

locate unaccounted for MMS employee. Yesterday one of two missing employees was located. The team removed 419 cultural resources. Wind-blown trees unearthed human remains and archaeological specialists were notified.

“Although wildland fire is our primary focus, we are organized to respond to all types of emergencies and we have the expertise needed to manage large, complex incidents,” said Phil Street, fire director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and spokesman for the National Multi Agency Coordinating group. Incident Management Teams, hand crews, logistics specialists, and other support personnel are responding to assist FEMA at sites from Georgia to Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. “We are participating at all levels of the incident response,” Street said. “We have crews there with skilled sawyers to help remove damaged and fallen trees, along with management and logistics teams to manage staging areas for distributing supplies, and more. We also have planning teams in place that are assisting with long-term recovery planning.” The National Interagency Fire Center has conducted a Wildland Fire Risk Assessment to evaluate increased fire risk to the hurricane-damaged areas. Hurricanes significantly impact forested lands at several scales and often set the stage for more intense fires. After the 2004 Hurricane assessment it was estimated about 55 million acres were affected by four hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina, in of itself, has affected




approximately 60 million acres. Determination of post hurricane fuel conditions was done on a very general scale due to the time constraints. Maps displaying the wind velocity, rainfall patterns, and tornado activity were developed and used to generate maps of damage areas. Four damage level categories were determined (scattered light, light, moderate, and severe). This was validated based on visual observation in the effected areas. The total land affected by the Hurricane Katrina is 60,840,000 acres. Of this, 32, 548,000 acres will need additional preparedness, fire prevention and fuel reduction work to mitigate the damage caused by the hurricane. Ninety percent of the damage is located on state or private land, with the vast majority of this being on private land. Theses acre numbers do include non-forested land. This additional workload is well beyond the normal fire budget of the state and federal agencies. Local fire managers were contacted to verify damage and general assumptions used in this assessment, plus provide tactical proposals to for mitigating fuels build up situation. The strategy includes prevention, preparedness (initial attack), and support to local fire districts and fuels treatments. Short-range forecast for the affected are indicate below normal rainfall for the next 14 days. Normal rainfall conditions are expected over the next several months. However, September and October are the two months with the lowest annual rainfall for the area. Unless, significant mitigation steps are taken immediately, one can expect wildland fires to pose very real hazard to the area. This will obviously be a long-term issue as well. General recommendations are made for prevention, preparedness resource needs above normal staffing and fuels treatment are proposed at a total cost of over 223 million dollars. Immediate and long-term fire prevention activities should take place. Increases in the number and capabilities of initial attack resources are required. Also, extensive fuel reduction work will be needed. This will require both mechanical and prescribe burning activities. This will require collaboration with local, state and federal agencies. Due to extraordinary costs and number of acres damaged, additional assessments will be needed. These can be done at the local level based on actually mapping (which was not available at the time of this analysis) and tiered to state level assessments. The analysis at the state level will be needed in order to prioritize the work to be done and the allocation of funding for suppression resources. To view the full Wildland Fire Risk Assessment please click on the link http://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/predictive/outlooks/200FinalHurricaneKatrinaFireRiskAssessment.pdf

http://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/predictive/outlooks/200FinalHurricaneKatrinaFireRiskAssessment.pdf




2006 National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Education Conference

Firewise Communities is pleased to announce the dates for the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Education Conference – Backyards and Beyond to be held in Denver, Colorado November 2-4, 2006. The conference will be offering many of the great training and networking opportunities of the 2004 conference with several new enhancements. The conference will offer over 60 quality educational sessions allowing you to customize your experience from six conference tracks. In 2004, over 500 people participated and you’ll be able to network with other like-minded professionals, share best practices, and join the Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Working Team celebrate the program’s major accomplishments. Participants who are encouraged to attend range from the homeowner/residents, landowner to building and landscape professionals, federal, state, county and local agencies. Foresters, insurers, fire fighters, planners and real estates professionals will also be in attendance. Attendees who have an interest in hazard assessment can attend a special two-day pre-conference workshop, some of the topics covered include sequential elements of a W/UI fire disaster, research and case studies, risk factors in the home ignition zone, general health of the ecosystem, how to inspect the home ignition zone and prepare assessment reports. Save the date now and look for conference updates and registration information on the Firewise Communities website www.firewise.org. We look forward to seeing you in Denver in 2006! Here are some comments from participants to the Backyards and Beyond conference held in November 2004:

“Good to have a mix of hands on practice, as well as theory sessions.” “…It was difficult to choose between some of the education topics offered at the same time.” “Speakers were very knowledgeable and had great handouts for us to take home to use.” “Conference planners did an outstanding job in selection of topics and speakers.” “The Hazard Assessment Training was outstanding with excellent instructors that kept our interest and participation throughout the three-day sessions.” “Diversity of topics was excellent. Attendees were able to “tailor education to one’s needs.” ”This has been an excellent conference with topics that relate to all aspects of my job. Speakers were very knowledgeable and were easy to follow.” Forest Ranger Technician “An exciting step in the right direction if we expect to promote awareness and real results in battling the interface.”

www.firewise.org




Call for Presentations to WUI Fire Education Conference Proposals are now being accepted for educational presentations at the 2006 National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Education Conference - Backyards And Beyond. You are invited to share your experience and expertise with community leaders, residents, wildland/urban interface fire department personnel, fire and emergency management personnel, insurance professionals, landscape professionals, planners, and builders as a presenter in Denver, Colorado November 2-4, 2006. The Confer-ence features training sessions in 1-hour, 90 minute, and 2-hour sessions. All presentation proposals will be reviewed and selections will be made based on quality, relevance, focus, practical application, and on the presenter’s experience. If you would like to be a speaker to share your experience and expertise with community leaders, residents, wildland/urban interface fire department personnel, fire and emergency management personnel, insurance professionals, landscape professionals, planners and builders during the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Education Conference, please visit the Firewise website at www.firewise.org and download the "Call for Presentation" form. Please note the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Education Conference does not pay for travel expenses, but selected speakers will receive complimentary conference registration. Please contact Cheryl Blake at [email protected] or Michele Steinberg at [email protected] if you have any questions. Deadline for submission is December 31, 2005.

www.firewise.org

mailto:[email protected]





Surviving a Wildfire: A Homeowner’s Story By Jeffe Aronson Telltale reddened eyes and black sooted faces cleared only by tears of relief, rarely seen from capable bushmen, after two hours of intense firefighting trying to save their homes, loved ones and themselves. This is my story, never forgotten and often remembered when we hear of large, violent wildfires. It is a story of survival, but also resourcefulness, preplanning, and how intense and unpredictable a wildfire can be when residents located in a remote area choose to stay and protect their homes from a blaze of historic proportions.

Fire front burning along ridge line (photo credit, Victorian Alpine Fires of 2003)

The Victorian Alpine Fires of 2003 in southeastern Australia were ignited on the January 8th, 2003 by a series of lightning strikes across northeastern Victoria. While most of the ignitions were contained within several days, the uncontained ones spread and amalgamated over a two-month period, and joined with fires burning in southeastern New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory to create a single fire of very extensive proportion. Officially declared contained on March 7th, 2003, the fires burned more than 1 million hectares of State forest and National Park, as well as some private land. In terms of extent and severity, the fires were the most substantial for Victoria since 1939, and among the most significant in Victoria’s recorded history. Fortunately, there was no loss of life directly attributable to firefighting activities, and asset losses (e.g. stock, fences, public infrastructure) while significant, were perhaps lower than might have been the case given the extent of the fires. The relative remoteness (largely uninhabited forest areas) was an important contributing factor in this regard.1

1 A full report of the fires is downloadable from the Department of Sustainability and Environment at the website: http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenfoe.nsf/FID/-D107F981D68881A8CA256DA9007E1E45?OpenDocument#Sections%201%20%2D%206

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenfoe.nsf/FID/-D107F981D68881A8CA256DA9007E1E45?OpenDocument#Sections%201%20%2D%206




We live near the Victorian Alpine National Park near the Snowy River about 20 miles northeast of Omeo in Victoria, Australia, in a remote area and home to about 300 people. On the day the fire reached our area, January 26, 2003, my mother-in-law and niece were visiting us from America and bore witness to the approaching fire. I knew my family would kill me if either of them were hurt, which is assuming the fire didn’t get me first. Of course, all lent a hand during the most intense part of the firefight. We felt we were well prepared to take shelter on our property2, as the fire advanced towards us. Leading to this decision was the fact we had spent the previous three years preparing our home and landscape for just such a day. Listening to public awareness campaigns we knew that with landscape and construction preparations, we would have an area of safe refuge and also be able to put out spot fires afterwards that often consume homes. Although located deep in the forest, we generate our own hydro-electrical power, have reserves of water and fuel, and have a trailer-mounted fire pump and water tank. Some of our preparations included tin covered windows, gutters cleaned then filled with water, but most importantly the clearing of brush on our 12 acres of land near our home and structures. A neighbor remarked that we were creating a “moonscape.” This same neighbor was frantic in the days before the fire preparing his property like ours as best he could. Most everyone in the valley came closer together in the lead-up to it all. Yet we all also knew that when the fire approached, we’d all be on our own -- too busy saving our properties to help others. We were lucky, too, as the fire slowly moved towards our area providing everyone fair warning of up to three weeks to prepare or evacuate. The evening before the fire struck our property, embers and flying brands filled the red sky over the ridges to the east. A sound like when you’re camped upstream of Lava fFalls in the Grand Canyon, throaty, rumbling, sublime but somehow also threatening, could be heard. Rusty flames could be seen along the horizons and filling the valleys, but strangely no wind as it crawled in front of us for seven hours while we waited. We stood fast waiting to jump into action if the fire came close to the house, but this night it didn’t. The next morning we could see spot fires in the valley, but wind was surprisingly absent. Driving in the valley around my home, I found half-dozen trucks, a dozer, and most of the valley’s residents, leaning on their vehicles lined up along the crest of a ridge. Most were jawboning and watching the spot fires across the valley discussing where it would burn next. It wasn’t long before we got our answer.

2 Please read the associated article in this issue, What to do When a Fire Threatens: Strategies Staying inside Your Home.




Local agency equipment and residents on ridge

Things began to heat up literally and figuratively, as I met my neighbor who watched a spot fire right across from his home quickly grow in size. Spot fires also began multiplying across the river, and crawling towards the Bundara River’s banks, towards farmhouses and horses. The wind, now picking up, began whipping grass fires like ocean breakers in a storm across the slopes and towards my home. Graham, the owner of a local pub reported that the fire had quickly grown in size and jumped the river. My vehicle towing a trailer with a make-shift fire pump and water tank with hose and tools was perfect for helping to put out small grass fires threatening a seasonal home, but when the radio in my truck crackled, I was told to head back home quickly as the fire was heading in the direction of the house. In the short drive to my house, I could see fire in the back of the property with the forest now ablaze. Thick red smoke was billowing from our gully just upstream, the one we burned in the spring, as I took the video camera to the ridge to overlook the scene. The flame front was only 100 meters away, as flames burning along the river – looking as if someone had poured grease along its sides -- cornered our back burn and approached my property at a gallop. Returning back to the house, I yelled to my family, “This is it!” We put the last of the tin on the windows, got mum inside, detached my makeshift pump and water tank from the truck and stored the truck inside a shed. Within minutes, we could see spot fires appear across the river -- first one, then twenty -- as if by magic. In less than 60 seconds several hundred acres of mountain, the entire bloody mountain, was aflame. We tried to call and warn our neighbors downwind, but the advance was so swift they too were surrounded by the firestorm.

Flame front advancing towards the property, Jeffe’s wife can be seen on the right.

Fire everywhere. We were running around like maniacs trying to put out nearby spot fires and prevent the house and shed from igniting. Mum stayed inside wetting rags to cover openings below the doors, as our niece helped where she could, dragging




hoses around corners, bringing water, and using a camera to film the event. Smoke, heat and cinders surrounded us in a whirlwind, preventing us from determining in which direction the front was coming. Fire approached and engulfed our 600-liter fuel tank only 60 meters away and our 22,000-liter plastic water tank, but we had done our best to remove ground fuel around both tanks days before. We were yelling to each other, but the sounds from the roaring fire were deafening, preventing us from hearing one another. I worried that if we lost the water tank, we would have only 1,000 liters of water in reserve. Trees exploded into flames as smoke choked us, but we persevered. I thought, “They say that when the front is upon you, to shelter inside until it’s passed. But how do you know when the front is passing, when fire is everywhere?” I answered my own question as we fought on, pulling hoses this way and that way, choking, eyes smarting, me stupidly calling out to my niece to film this or that, then to grab a hose to help me. It was insane and chaotic. To top it all off, the bloody smoke alarms in the house were screaming out to us during all this mayhem.

Jeffe extinguishing spot fires before retreat into home

Then, as I tried to stop flames from consuming firewood and timber piles and from spreading to our shed, I realized it was time to retreat. Breathing was difficult and I could barely see. My skin was staring to really feel the heat and I realized it was time to take shelter. Watering down the fire pump as my last act, I sprinted into the house with the others. When I realized my wife was not in the house, I exited the back door in the lee of the tempest, rounded the shed, and found her with a trusty water backpack sprayer, attacking a burning tree. Together we went back inside, coughing and rubbing our eyes and asking if everyone was okay. Conditions inside were better but still challenging. Wind-driven firebrands were coming inside under and over the doors, as my wife took her sprayer to put them out. I was kneeling on the cement floor, spitting thick mucous and guzzling some juice, trying to get hydrated. We heard a large explosion in the distance and thought it may be a neighbor’s fuel tank or ours. Hurricane force winds battered the house, but the tin-covered windows and skylights held. Peeking out the door, we saw fire everywhere. A firebreak we prepared around the shed seemed to be holding. Sounds of trees falling to the ground in rapid succession piqued my curiosity to look outside every couple of minutes. The wind tried to rip the doors from my hands. This went on for another 15 minutes or so, making the whole battle last for maybe 45 minutes. Then, as if the universe had audibly sighed, it calmed enough to feel like we just might beat this thing.




Smoke and fire near the small town of Omeo, Victoria (photo credit, Victorian Alpine Fires of 2003)

I exited our home and, able to see and breathe again, grabbed a hose and started putting out small fires, which were everywhere I looked: in drip lines, garden plants, trees, grass, and bushes. We used a chainsaw to cut up two fallen trees off our driveway. Power to the house went out, as I checked on the hydroelectric generator near the river. Heat and fire had damaged some wiring and also melted some plastic piping coming from our water and fuel tanks. Utilizing a backup generator we maintained power and were able sustain ourselves. Our home was relatively unscathed once the spot fires were extinguished, as I hooked my trailer and water tank to my truck and set off to help put out other fires. Park Rangers who drove down our gravel lane after the front had passed said they’d expected smoking corpses after they’d seen the fire engulf the woods around us. Our neighbors, who live in a home in that same pasture, said that when they saw the fireball explode from the edge of our forest, it sounded like an airliner taking off. Upstream, our neighbor’s house fared worse than ours. His home was burnt to a crisp, as was another neighbor’s cabin downstream. Just over the ridge, still another neighbor’s timber shed was burnt, but all were otherwise well. We wave to one neighbor as he and his family sit on their verandah, and it seems to me that they are soaking up precious life with renewed appreciation whilst surveying the ruin about them. The mule and the ponies were fine as were the chickens, despite seeing dead kangaroos and birds littering their paddock.




Neighbor who didn’t fare as well.

I think back to my neighbor’s comment. ”Moonscape” indeed. Thankfully, unbelievably, most trees on our property remained standing. Though they’re burnt and some crashing to the ground, we can only hope they come back next spring. Our home and outbuildings were scorched but only slightly damaged. More importantly, all of us are alive and well, surviving the firestorm.

Neighbors sharing tales and a beer after the danger passes

So here I sit, pounding out my first impressions, having gone through one of those famous Australian Bushfires. My wife and I have hugged and kissed, and we’ve all given each other the high five. We sit back and listen to the warnings they’re giving on the radio to other people in other towns and valleys, as this unknowable power wends its way towards the only thing that’s going to stop it -- the ocean. We silently wish them well for their lives and belongings. But we survived and now that night has fallen, the mountain across from us had a million small fires, brilliantly glowing like the stars we’ve so sorely missed of late. We stand there in the cool evening watching the fire-stars, my wife wrapped in my arms, exhausted but victorious. Just after midnight we hear the patter of rain on the roof, the first in weeks and sorely missed.




Exhausted and relieved after the fire, author Jeffe Aronson

Jeffe and Carrie Aronson live in Victoria, Australia and also Idaho, he can be reached via email at [email protected] Photo Credit: Jeffe Aronson except where noted.

Editor’s note: Several publications provide information on Sheltering-In-Place including a recent paper on the subject from the National Fire Protection Association, Wildland Fire Management Section titled Emerging Issues in Wildland Fire Protection. When Wildfire Threatens: Should Residents Stay or Evacuate? Please contact [email protected] if you would like a copy of this document. A recent paper by Thomas J. Cova published in the Natural Hazards Review (August 2005-Volume 6, Issue 2) titled Public Safety in the Urban–Wildland Interface: Should Fire-Prone Communities Have a Maximum Occupancy? This paper applies concepts from building codes to fire-prone areas to highlight limitations in existing community egress systems. Preliminary recommendations for improved community evacuation codes are also presented. The website www.ascelibrary.org offers the complete abstract and ability to download the complete article. Please read the associated article in this issue, What to do When a Fire Threatens: Strategies Staying inside Your Home from the Firewise Action Program available for downloading from www.firewise.org.



http://www.ascelibrary.org

http://www.firewise.org




What to do When a Fire Threatens: Strategies for Staying inside Your Home If you have prepared for a fire ahead of time and taken the precautions outlined in the Firewise Action Program (available for downloading from www.firewise.org under Downloads and Documents) you can feel more secure that your home will survive a wildland fire threat. However there are additional actions you can take if a wildland fire is approaching your property.

• Be prepared to evacuate all residents if necessary. In some cases, a homeowner may choose to remain with the home to help provide protection. The information below are some guidelines for evacuating or for choosing to remain at the home. Remember, however, that no property is worth losing a life.

• Have a plan to evacuate family members and pets. • Make the decision and take action to evacuate early to avoid being caught in

traffic or the fire itself. • Be sure that everyone in the family knows the location of a prearranged

meeting place, as well as evacuation routes. • Place valuable keepsakes and important papers in your vehicle and place the

vehicle inside the garage, facing out. • Leave the windows rolled up. • Disconnect electric garage door openers so the door can be opened manually

in the event of a power outage. • Don’t panic; remain calm and attempt to remain in touch with emergency

personnel if available. Preparations Inside the Home (When Choosing to Remain With the Home)

• Keep a radio or television tuned for instructions. • Close all exterior doors and windows and exterior vents. Also close all interior

doors. Leave a light on in each room; this may help firefighters in smoky conditions.

• Fill bathtubs, sinks, and other containers with water for putting out hot spots if no other source is available.

• Remember that the hot water heater and toilet are sources of water, if needed.

• Remove curtains and other combustibles from around windows (radiant heat can ignite curtains through the glass).

• Move all over-stuffed or upholstered furniture (over-stuffed chairs, couches, etc.) to the middle of the room, away from windows.

• Close all windows, blinds and shutters. • Open the fireplace damper, but be sure the screen is in place to prevent

embers from entering the house. • Wear only cotton or wool clothes, preferably long pants, long-sleeved shirts or

jackets, and boots. • Continually check the attic, if possible, for embers smoke, or fire.

The decision to remain with your property is a personal choice, which should be made only if conditions allow for your personal safety.





Outside the Home

• Place a ladder against the house (to allow access to the roof to extinguish spot fires).

• Be sure all outside hoses are connected to faucets and, if possible, turned on. • Close or cover all eaves and foundation vents. • Move flammable patio or lawn furniture or any other materials away from the

house. • Shut off propane at the tank or natural gas at the meter. • Soak rags, towels, or small rugs with water and have on hand to put out

embers or small fires. • Continually check the roof for embers, smoke, or fire. • If possible, place a lawn sprinkler on a wood shake or shingle roof, but wait

until embers begin falling before you turn the sprinkler on. • Don’t waste water. However, if there is adequate water pressure, periodically

spray down a wood shake or shingle roof and wood siding.




The Expanding Role of the Volunteer Firefighter By Rick Trembath

The following is an excerpt from the book American Perspectives on the Wildland/Urban Interface a compilation of personal viewpoints from stakeholders, local, state, and federal agencies, private and public landowners, and concerned citizens. The intent of the publication is to provide an opportunity to explore various perspectives on the interface growth, current assessment of the wildland/urban interface from an individual discipline to other like professionals, (concerns, solutions, and/or recommendations) as to what the future wildland/urban interface situation might hold, and possible solutions. Each chapter represents a discipline that affects (or can affect) continued growth in the wildland/urban interface including the impact on our natural resources and the safety of residents and firefighters. The book can easily be ordered through the Online Firewise Publications Catalog for only a nominal shipping charge. A significant wildland urban interface fire within my fire district concerns me greatly as we would become the lead emergency services agency charged with managing such an incident. The multiple responsibilities of life safety for my firefighters, the coordination of incoming mutual aid firefighting and contingency resources, as well as the safety of area homeowners and the general public during a fast moving interface fire would be overwhelming. A wildfire escaping initial attack and burning homes within minutes of its start would not allow time for safe evacuations, time for mutual aid fire fighting resources to arrive, or for us to do any effective fire fighting. Such an event during a period of extreme fire danger and driven by high winds would have the potential to destroy property and endanger people similar to a major earthquake, hurricane, or tornado. It would be utter chaos! In recent memory, we have not experienced such an event in our fire district; we have not had fires start in the wrong place at the wrong time and we have been able to handle the initial fire starts. Destructive urban interface fires have been in someone else’s fire district – so far. Area forest fires have been infrequent events and we’ve been lucky; some day when the conditions are right our luck will end and our fire district will experience such an event! The areas that burned before our time now have tremendous fuel volumes from re-growth and in the past 30 years rural subdivision growth has expanded into these fuels. Much of our rural volunteer fire district is now vulnerable and is not as “Firewise” as it needs to be!





Collectively, fire service personnel and interface homeowners have short memories. We tend to be complacent regarding the risk and potential of wildfire. We think “there hasn’t been a large forest fire around here for 50 years!” when actually we would have experienced several large but less severe forest fires if natural fire events would have been allowed; but now we’re way overdue! We tend to be optimists and greatly underestimate the potential for property loss and injury from wildfire. We tend to concentrate our efforts on being reactive, in bolstering our firefighting capabilities, rather than being proactive by coordinating and implementing prevention and fire behavior mitigation solutions in our interface areas to reduce our wildfire intensity and vulnerability. Home and property owners overestimate the abilities and capabilities of our fire service organizations regarding wildfire suppression effectiveness and underestimate the potential of wildfire loss. The reality is that interface residents have changed over time from homesteaders who knew and used fire responsibly to transplanted residents that either fear fire or misapply it. Most of my firefighters are unfamiliar with extreme wildfire behavior (they haven’t been on a ‘big one’) and they would not be comfortable or proficient working a running interface fire. We need to educate ourselves as firefighters, home and property owners and wildland residents regarding “today’s” wildfire risk and potential. If this risk and potential is evident in our fire district, then we need to embrace and promote “Firewise” actions as a way of reducing our risks and building communities compatible with future wildland fires. To do this, firefighters need to train and know wildland fire as well as structure fire so that we are competent in both. We need to develop relationships with our mutual aid partners including wildland agencies and accept responsibility in wildland fire roles. We must participate in mutual aid training so when we have a “Big Event”, we work together effectively and efficiently with roles and responsibilities defined and understood. This means participating with and training with partner agencies at all levels of government (county, state, and federal) so we are better prepared and respond rapidly as one. By doing this, our departments will be better prepared and more willing to provide the mutual aid which will strengthen our network of wildland/urban fire response locally, regionally, and nationally. The wildland/urban interface is expanding to new country and the questions it brings are complex and require forethought. What mutual aid resources would we order and how would they best be used? Should subdivisions be evacuated or would residents be safer to shelter-in-place if a fire starts below or upwind from them? What are and where are the safe zones? What is the most severe fire behavior we can expect? What strategies and tactics should we use? What’s our water plan? How much time will we have to prepare, what needs to be done and in which order of priority? We should offer interface residents, our neighbors and customers, mitigation options like risk assessments from crown fire, embers and radiant heat ignitions, just as we offer interior fire inspections for structural fire risks. We should offer homeowner associations and communities’ wildland fire risk assessments the same as we offer businesses fire response plans. Structure and wildland firefighters’ working together on these assessments is a good way to teach and learn from each other and gives




residents encouragement and consistent messages. This provides homeowners accurate information and allows them to develop realistic expectations and personal plans, understanding what firefighters can and can’t do, and a prediction of the fire behavior potential. The result is more Firewise home sites, more effective fire department response, less property loss and damage and reduced firefighter and resident exposure. Infrastructure elements to consider include the implementation of community planning that addresses new development; i.e. building densities, road access, construction materials, water supply, and vegetation management that have all proven to reduce losses from wildfire. Protecting our communities also requires becoming involved with wildland management issues and applying the proper fuel reduction measures throughout forests, natural areas and watersheds that will reduce wildfire damage to these precious community ecosystem resources and slow the fire before it reaches structures and residents. What the Future May Hold The potential for more intense wildland fire in most rural fire districts is increasing as time goes on. Collectively as fire suppression agencies, we have done an outstanding job of controlling most of the small fires in our fire districts for over the past 100 years; during which time wildland and forest vegetation continues to grow creating greater fuel volume and therefore more potential for severe wildfire behavior. If global warming means more days each year where wildfire could be a significant event, and if periods of drought and severe weather continue, our wildfire risk compounds. The next generation of interface fires could very well be more intense and more destructive and our future successes will hinge not on increased volunteer fire suppression responsibility, but on how we react as communities ‘before’ these events occur. As the nation’s largest firefighting force, volunteer firefighters need to rethink our traditional mindset of “We will defend your home in whatever condition” and rather embrace the philosophy that “We will work together to manage our wildfire risk and properly mitigate our homes and communities before these events occur! Rick Trembath is Fire Chief of the Big Fork Montana Volunteer Fire Department




Mitigating Wildfire Damage - New APA Report Shows How Communities and Residents Can Reduce Wildfire Devastation

Wildfires are both dangerous and costly, yet people continue to build in wildfire-prone areas. This poses challenges for governments and planners, who must decide whether to permit development in such areas and how best to design developments that are allowed. A new publication, Planning for Wildfires by James Schwab and Stuart Meck with Jamie Simone, published by the American Planning Association (APA) explores both issues, outlining how knowledge of wildfire risks can be incorporated into comprehensive planning and identifying best practices for development in at-risk areas. "Wildfire mitigation is extremely important because wildfires are very much a people-triggered hazard, in ways that do not apply to hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes," said Schwab, senior research associate at APA. "Wildfires also can trigger other serious disasters such as landslides, when rains sweep soil down hills denuded of vegetation." Wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity as more people move into areas where developments meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildlands. The buildup of fuels, the previous wildfire strategy of total suppression, historic settlement patterns, and population growth, all contribute to increasing the potential and risk for wildfires. Almost any state can be the scene of a wildfire with the right fuels, the right weather, and a source of ignition. To help mitigate wildfire damage, Schwab and Meck stress the need for a combined effort from local, state, and federal governments, fire agencies, and residents. "There is no one single approach to dealing with wildfires. Everyone shares in the responsibility to mitigate wildfire damage," said Meck, senior research fellow at APA. "This includes implementing development design standards to help mitigate fire damage, and engaging and educating residents on their role in preventing wildfire damage." The extent of wildfire destruction depends on a number of development decisions, including building design, subdivision design, landscaping and land-use regulations, and management of biological fuel loads. The authors stress the need for building codes that require fire-resistant construction materials such as nonflammable siding




(brick, stucco and adobe construction); fire-resistant roofing, eaves, fascias and soffits; and spark arrestors on chimneys. Residents can play an integral role in mitigating damage by maintaining their property. They should consistently remove debris to reduce available fuel sources. By maintaining a defensible space around their home and applying recommendations from the national Firewise Communities program for home and landscape maintenance, residents can reduce the likelihood that their home will ignite during a wildfire. Additionally, planners and communities need to examine the risks presented in new development proposals. Sitting homes on slopes is one development decision that needs to be carefully considered because of the high associated risk. New developments should be required to have multiple entry routes to prevent residents from becoming trapped and increasing accessibility for emergency responders. More communities are shifting their focus from responding to disasters to mitigating the impact beforehand through community plans and ordinances. The authors reviewed numerous wildfire mitigation community plans and ordinances. They highlight several effective plans and ordinances in the report, including: The Okeechobee County, Florida, Wildland Fire Mitigation Plan, for its unique strategic and institutional approach. The Santa Barbara, California, Wildland Fire Plan, as one of the most systematic and clearly written plans reviewed. The Ashland, Oregon, Community Wildfire Protection Plan, for its routine scheduling of action items such as conducting wildfire evacuation drills in neighborhoods each year. The Clark County, Washington, Wildland Urban Interface/Intermix Ordinance, requiring preventative measures in connection with subdivision, building permits, and other development applications in the interface/intermix area. The authors note that regardless of the progress communities are making toward mitigating wildfire destruction, all of the plans reviewed lack a clearly delineated relationship to the community's local comprehensive plan. "The local comprehensive plan sets up the overall physical design for the community, including the location of housing, community facilities, transportation, and the intensities and densities of land uses," Meck said. "Wildfire planning can't be at cross purposes with the chief development policies of the community." "Planners play an integral role in developing communities that foster a safe and enriching environment for residents," said Schwab. "This report should serve as a guide to planners, communities, and residents, to work together to reduce or possibly eliminate the risk associated with wildfires." Planning for Wildfires was underwritten by the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Program, a cooperative interagency program with assistance from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). It is one of APA's Planning Advisory Service (PAS) Reports. PAS reports analyze current planning practices and offer practical advice that can be implemented in communities around the country. They are designed to serve as a guide for planners, business leaders, and citizens in creating communities of lasting value. If you would like to order a copy of the full report please visit the APA website at: http://www.planning.org/bookservice/description.htm?BCODE=P529

http://www.planning.org/bookservice/description.htm?BCODE=P529




Acceptability of Smoke From Prescribed Forest Burning in the Northern Inland West: A Focus Group Approach By: Weisshaupt, Brad R.; Carroll, Matthew S.; Blatner, Keith A.; Robinson, William D.; Jakes, Pamela J. as published in the Journal of Forestry, Volume 103, Number 4, June 2005, from the Society of American Foresters A recently released report used focus groups to gauge tolerance of smoke from broadcast prescribed forest burning in the wildland-urban interface of the northern Inland West. These participants worked through issues surrounding prescribed burning as a management tool to determine if the origin of smoke made a difference in the acceptance of that smoke. Participant responses across five different population sectors suggest that prescribed forest burning could be applied as a forest management tool with a well-informed public and that establishing and maintaining a dialogue with the public may be the most important part of any fire prescription. The entire report can be view from the Society of American Foresters members website or can ordered by using the link www.safnet.org/periodicals/journal.cfm.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/saf/jof

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/saf

http://www.safnet.org/periodicals/journal.cfm




Register to Stay Up-to-Date Subscribing to the Wildfire News and Notes mailing list is a great way to automatically receive notification of newsletters, timely reminders of current events, and important updates through a series of monthly alerts. It is easy to register and only takes a minute requiring only your email address. To register, simply go to the Firewise website at www.firewise.org, in the left margin click Firewise Resources, then Wildfire News & Notes, scroll down to the middle of the page and you’ll see the subscribe section. Enter your email address, click on subscribe then submit and you’re done. You’ll receive an electronic Firewise Alert about once a month providing you with seasonal reminders, topics of importance, and notices of Wildfire News & Notes postings all year long!





Firewise Tested by Fire By Chief Dean Kapler, Ramsey Fire Department and Dave Schuller, DNR Firewise Specialist Reprinted with permission from the Minnesota Fire Chief – July/August 2005, Vol. 41, No. 6, www.msfca.org April 9, 2005, the skies were clear, temps were at 60 degrees, humidity at 37 percent and winds were out of the southeast at twelve, gusting to twenty-two. It was a good fire day; if you liked fire. A homeowner was in the back yard trying to burn some papers. It took several matches to light the paper. They kept blowing out. Finally, the paper caught and blew across the yard into the brown swamp grass at the back of the property. The grass caught, and off it raced, pushed by the winds. The fire was angling toward a pine grove, due west of the fire origin. This was Trap Rock, a neighborhood that had just completed an extensive Firewise project the year before. Seventeen homeowners in this neighborhood had banded together and with the help of the City of Ramsey and Firewise Grant funding had made significant improvements. These homes were nestled in a decadent, overcrowded Scotch and Norway pine stand. Many dead and dying trees dotted the landscape. Fire ladder fuel was everywhere. The ‘hairy’ Scotch pine had dead branches to the ground and young seedlings grew up to meet them in a carpet of fuel. The Firewise project involved thinning out most of the Scotch pine, giving the remaining Norway pines room to grow. As part of the project, ladder fuels were removed, eliminating the thick carpet of Scotch pine seedlings and pruning the branches up eight feet on the residual trees. A logger did much of the work, taking the logs to a pulp mill. The remaining branches were ground up and hauled to St. Paul’s District Energy to fire their boilers, providing electricity to downtown St. Paul. The site was transformed from a tangled fire prone jungle, to a pristine park-like neighborhood; and none too soon. As the wildfire, with flame lengths reaching five feet, raced across the landscape, it entered the Trap Rock development in one area. The tall swamp grass gave way to a sparse ground cover of pine needles, chips and grass. Flame lengths dropped to just inches. The rest of the fire raced on by, heading northwest along the swamp. Under the pines the fire crept. Soon firefighters, DNR staff and property owners were there, snuffing out the creeping fire a safe fifty yards from homes. The remainder of fire was contained by water dropping helicopters, CL215 water bombers and on the ground firefighters. The 160-acre fire was contained to the swamp and the edges of yards that surrounded it. But this story could have ended differently. Imagine this, if this fire had happened two years earlier, there would have been ladder fuels and dense pine along the edge of the swamp. An early, warm spring would have these ladder fuels dry and ready for fire. The fire could have climbed out

http://www.msfca.org




of the swamp grass right into the pine boughs, igniting a crown fire that would have exploded through the pine grove, possibly igniting between three and six homes before the firefighters could reach them. The peaceful, serene whispering pine forest may have been laid waste to stark black scorched trees. Many similar neighborhoods dot Minnesota. Some have taken steps to become Firewise, others have not. The Firewise program is designed to help communities address fire prone neighborhoods through funding and technical support. Is your community Firewise? If not, contact your local Department of Natural Resources – Forestry office or visit their website at www.dnr.state.mn.us/firewise. Editor’s note: Firewise Communities/USA is a project of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Wildland/Urban Interface Working Team and is the newest element of the Firewise program. It provides citizens with the knowledge necessary to maintain an acceptable level of fire readiness, while ensuring firefighters that they can use equipment more efficiently during a wildland fire emergency. The program draws on a community's spirit, its resolve, and its willingness to take responsibility for its ignition potential. Please visit Firewise Communities/USA website at www.firewise.org/usa for additional information.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/firewise

http://www.firewise.org/usa




Apply Now for Fire Prevention and Safety Grants The purpose of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program’s Fire Prevention and Safety Grant (FP&S) is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. The primary goal of the grant program is to reach high-risk target groups in order to mitigate the high incidences of death and injuries. Additionally for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Congress amended the authorization to include funding for Firefighter Safety Research and Development. Additional information is available including Frequently Asked Questions and an online tutorial on the website www.firegrantsupport.com. Together, these resources provide you with the information you need to complete the online application available at https://portal.fema.gov and must be completed by October 7, 2005.

http://www.firegrantsupport.com

https://portal.fema.gov

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