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Title: |
Minnesota FireWise Community Program
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Type: |
Regulatory
Homeowner assistance
Fuelbreaks
Education
Designation of high risk areas
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
Minnesota
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Program Description: |
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has established the Minnesota Firewise Program to address the growing fire danger in Wildland-Urban Interface areas. The program is aimed at addressing factors of emergency vehicle access, structure design, and fuels build-up, to reduce fire hazard risk to people and structures. The Firewise Program maintains a Firewise web site with a wealth of information on creating defensible space, and reducing wildfire risk. Many of the articles and publications available on the website are also available in printed form, and are distributed at community meetings for public education.
Cost-Share Grants to Communities
The key to Minnesota's Firewise Program is community participation. The goal of the program is to have communities take ownership of the program, solve their existing fire risk problems, and plan future development without creating new fire risk problems. Cost-share funding on a 50/50 basis is available to help communities assess their fire risk, plan mitigation activities, thin and prune pines, and install dry hydrants, among other risk reduction activities. The grants are funded through the National Fire Plan. Grant guidelines show that at least 40% of total grant funding should be used for hazardous fuel reduction practices: such as tree and stand reduction, and thinning of conifers; or risk mitigation activities: such as creating defensible space, access improvement and road signage, and dry hydrants. Up to 60% of the grant can be used for supporting activities: including focused-message information and education, and planning. The Information and Education component is deemed so important that the grant program requires a community to spend at least 15% of its grant on this activity. Planning activities include creating a detailed risk assessment database, improved wildland fire training for firefighters, and mitigation planning activities.
Technical Assistance and Support
Minnesota DNR provides services and technical support to the local communities through three regional Firewise Specialists: Dave Schuller, Bill Blesener and Pegg Julson. These specialists act as a liaison with community groups and provide technical expertise in forestry and firewise, GIS risk mapping, guidelines for creating risk mitigation ordinances, and community grant program participation requirements.
The Minnesota DNR provides participating communities with a generalized risk assessment of the community, and maps and data describing the general wildland fuels and fire risks. This provides a starting point for the community to do a more detailed risk assessment. DNR also provides the community with specific assessment technology for use in the detailed community assessment work. And DNR also supplies the community with printed Minnesota Firewise information for distribution to residents.
Becoming a Firewise Community
Firewise communities are those that have a wildfire emergency action plan in place, or are interested in preparing and action plan to:
- avoid potential wildfire emergencies by addressing and correcting wildland fire hazards;
- prepare themselves in the event a wildfire threatens;
- educate the community on wildfire prevention.
To become a Firewise Community the local fire chief, or other key community figure, contacts the Regional DNR Firewise Specialist, and a local committee is formed. Next, there is an assessment of the wildfire hazard in the community. This assessment may use aerial photos (level 1 assessment) and home inspections with NFPA 299 (level 2 assessment), to rate homes based on wildland fire risk potential. Fire department staff and high school students can be trained to conduct these assessments. The resulting data is displayed on GIS maps and shows the geographic distribution of wildfire risk to homes. Minnesota uses EPIC GIS software to model wildfire risk at the local level. The assessment criteria are standardized throughout the state to create a detailed database of wildfire risk on a local level.
When the assessment is complete, on-the-ground mitigation activities including thinning of pine trees, improving emergency road access, and installing dry hydrants can be undertaken. Homeowners are also encouraged to thin and prune trees and create at least a 30 foot perimeter of defensible space around their homes.
Contact Information
For more information on Minnesota's Firewise Program, contact Dave Schuller
651-772-7931
Email: dave.schuller@dnr.state.mn.us
Bill Glesener
218-755-4420
Email: bill.glesener@dnr.state.mn.us
Pegg Julson
218-276-2245
Email: pegg.julson@dnr.state.mn.us
or
Tom Eiber
651-297-3417
Email: tom.eiber@dnr.state.mn.us.
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