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Title: |
Missoula County, MT- Public Education and Fuels Reduction
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Type: |
Regulatory
Fuelbreaks
Education
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Jurisdiction: |
County
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State: |
Montana
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Program Description: |
Missoula County - Public Education Program and Subdivision Regulations for Wildland Residential Interface Vegetation Reduction Guidelines.
Background
Due to the extreme high fire risk in the Missoula area and Bitterroot Valley, a wide consortium of agencies came together in 1998 to create the Community Interface Fire Plan. The Bitterrroot and Lolo Forests which consist of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir dry habitat vegetation, were subject to periodic natural burning. Without maintenance, the forest develops a dense and layered tree cover allowing higher intensity and larger-sized fires which race into the crowns, and are impossible to suppress.
Action Plan
Montana DNRC, USDA Forest Service, and a long list of Fire Departments and concerned agencies met to develop a plan for protecting people and homes in this extreme hazard situation. The first step was a detailed mapping of the length of fire season, ranking of stand replacing fire likelihood, and the urban interface.
Using the maps to target high fire hazard areas, fuel treatment strategies were developed. A one mile area surrounding the population centers of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys were targeted for thinning work.
Public Education
Bitterroot Resource Conservation and Development and Missoula County Fire Protection Association became the lead agencies for public education on the risks to residents of dense overgrowth, the need for adequate roadways, and the need for forest thinning activities. Missoula County Fire Protection Association has a website which offers information on Firewise Landscaping and how to get a Free Hazard Risk Assessment. Other public education efforts include annual visits to local schools with Smokey Bear, Firefighter Frank and Sparkey the Fire Dog teaching fire safety, and demonstrations at the Western Montana Fair, with two fire safety demonstration trailers. MCFPA fire officials review the plans of all subdivisions designed to include more than five lots, enforcing regulations to create defensible space around new homes.
Vegetation Management Regulations
Missoula County Subdivision Regulations contain two sections dealing with vegetation management. Article 5, Section R states that in Wildland/ Residential Interface areas, the following statement shall be included in a development agreement between the governing body and the developer, or in the covenants:
"The property owner shall create a defensible space for fire protection purposes as approved by the appropriate fire jurisdiction. Vegetation shall be removed and reduced around each building according to the slope. Single ornamental trees or shrubs need not be removed as long as all vegetation near them is reduced according to the guideline. Ornamental trees and shrubs should not touch any buildings. When planting, the property owner shall select trees, shrubs, and vegetation that limit or retard fire spread as suggested below:
(i) Perennial: Choose hardy perennial flowers that are adapted to Missoula's climate. These green, leafy, succulent plants are difficult to burn. Watering and regular weeding improves fire resistance;
(ii) Shrubs: Evergreen shrubs such as dwarf conifers or junipers tend to ignite easily; avoid them unless well spaced; and
(iii) Trees: Deciduous trees can be clumped, scattered, or planted in greenbelts or windbreak patterns. Evergreen trees tend to ignite easily and should be spaced in accordance with the landscaping guidelines (Appendix V)."
Missoula County Subdivision Regulations, Appendix VIII, Wildland/Residential Interface Vegetation Reduction Guidelines
The guidelines are very specific, and set out separate guidelines for houses on a 1%-10% slope, a 10% to 20% slope, and a 20% -30% slope. When the slope increases, the distances for fuel reduction: the 10 foot, 20 foot and 70 foot guidelines for spacing and pruning of vegetation, expand on the downslope side of the building. This is because fire spreads quickly when moving uphill. The building needs greater protection from fire moving uphill. The guidelines call for non-combustible material, such as gravel, flowers, plants, concrete, or mineral soil in the first 3 feet around a building. Moving farther out in concentric rings, all trees and downed woody materials should be removed in the next ten feet. From 13 feet out to 30 feet, trees should be thinned to ten feet between crowns, limbs should be pruned up to 15 feet or 1/3 the total live crown height, and surface vegetation should be maintained at 3 inches or less. All downed woody fuels should be removed. From 30 feet to 100 feet out from the building, trees should be thinned to 10 feet between crowns, limbs should be pruned to 15 feet or 1/3 total live crown height, and all woody fuels more than 3 inches in diameter should be removed. In areas of 10%-20% slope, the above guidelines still apply for the upslope side of the building. But on the downslope side, the total area for modification increases to 120 feet from the building. In areas of more than 20% slope, the downslope side requires fuel modification out to 150 feet from the building.
Contact Information
For more information, contact Missoula County Planning Office at (406)523-4657 or email [email protected].
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