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The national database of state and local wildfire hazard mitigation programs
serves as a clearinghouse of information about nonfederal policies and
programs that seek to reduce the risk of loss of life and property through
the reduction of hazardous fuels on private lands. If
you would like to submit a program to the national wildfire programs database,
please complete the following form (MS
Word).
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Title: |
Louisiana Public Education Program & Big Branch Fuels Reduction Projects
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Type: |
Property Insurance
Education
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
Louisiana
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Program Description: |
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is undertaking a public education program to raise awareness of the wildfire potential in wildland-urban interface areas. They are working with the Firewise Communities program, Firewise.org., to develop a recognition program for neighborhoods that incorporate firesafe landscaping and construction materials.
Fire Safe Brochures
The thrust of the Louisiana program is public education, and to that end, they have created a brochures called "Fire Safe Homes in the Louisiana Wildland/Urban Interface."
The brochure discusses homebuilding and landscaping techniques that will enable homes to survive a wildland fire. The brochure advocates using fire-resistant or non-flammable construction materials and roofs, double-pane windows, and having a driveway, able to support heavy fire equipment, 12 feet wide, with a 15-foot vertical clearance, and ample turnaround space. The landscaping recommendations include separating wood fencing from the house with a masonry firebreak, avoiding wood decks overhanging a slope, and maintaining a 30 foot wide lawn around the home with only fire resistant species planted within this zone. Maintenance tips include storing firewood and flammable materials away from the home, keeping the grass mowed and watered, and removing leaf litter and pine straw from the roof and eaves.
Another brochure developed to educate Louisiana homeowners about wildfire risk is "Prevention: A Home's Best Defense from Wildfire". This brochure clearly describes how to create and maintain defensible space around a home, and shows pictures of homes with low, small, moderate, and high risk of fire susceptibility. For landowners of forested property, the brochure recommends that owners prescribe burn and thin regularly, maintaining their forested property as they would their residence.
Education Outreach
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF)is developing a public outreach program to bring the information to targeted parishes within the state. They have incorporated Firewise information into an existing teacher education program called Project Learning Tree, and into the Forestry Awareness programs which are field trip experiences for elementary school children. Project Learning Tree teachers will be receiving a Firewise CD-ROM to help them teach Firewise practices in the classroom.
LDAF personnel attend parish fairs and festivals with an exhibit, and give out brochures. They have included firewise information in community workshops put on by the Louisiana Urban Forestry Council. Current plans include workshops coordinated with The Nature Conservancy in southeastern Louisiana which will showcase the need for prescribed fire, as well as firewise communities in the interface. Long range plans include the possibility of two Wildland Urban Interface centers in Louisiana. One would be at Alexander State Forest in Woodworth, La., and a WUI center at the LSU Agricultural Center Research Station near Hammond, La.
Future plans include Firewise trailers to carry the Firewise message throughout the state. A CD-ROM project, still in the building stage, is an interactive program for community groups and homeowners.
Insurance Rates Drop
St. Tammany Parish in Southeastern Louisiana has historically been one of two Louisiana parishes with the most wildfire. Cooperative projects between the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge and the town of Lacombe have resulted in a reduction of fuels build-up and a lower fire risk rating for the town. The Insurance Service Office (ISO) fire risk rating for homeowners in Lacombe's Fire District #3 dropped from a rating of 5 on a scale of 1-to-10 to 3, due to fuels reduction projects in the the Refuge. Homeowners should see a 5-10% reduction in their homeowners insurance premiums.
Contact Information
For more information, contact Paul Orr, via email, at [email protected], or by phone at 225-925-4500.
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