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).
Return to your search results or Perform a new search
|
Title: |
Southwest Colorado -- Fire Plans for Four Counties
|
|
Type: |
Regulatory
Fuelbreaks
Education
Designation of high risk areas
Community Planning
|
|
Jurisdiction: |
County
|
|
State: |
Colorado
|
|
Program Description: |
Background
The Community Fire Plans adopted by the five counties of southwest Colorado: Archuleta, Delores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan, were developed with the assistance of the Office of Community Services at Fort Lewis College to assist the sheriffs, fire officials and residents of these counties identify private and public lands at risk from severe wildland fires. The Fire Plans also recommend strategies for the prevention and suppression of such fires. This entry will discuss the development of four of the five county Fire Plans: Archuleta, Dolores, Montezuma, and San Juan. The La Plata Fire Plan is discussed in a separate entry on this website.
Over half of the total land area in southwestern Colorado is publicly owned and managed. The San Juan National Forest, BLM land, Indian tribal land, State of Colorado lands are interspersed with private lands and small communities. Coordination between land management and fire fighting entities in this environment is imperative. For this reason these organizations formed a coalition to create the fire plans and to educate the public about reducing wildfire threat around their homes: USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS), San Juan Mountain Association, Office of Community Services at Fort Lewis College, Archuleta County, Dolores County, La Plata County, Montezuma County, and San Juan County. For more information on the public education efforts of this coalition, see the Southwest Colorado Fire Information Clearinghouse entry on this website.
Archuleta Land Use Code
In 2001, Archuleta County adopted a planning ordinance, called Site Development Standards, see Archuleta County, CO � Ordinance for Subdivision Design Standards on this website, which requires real estate developers to thin fire-prone parcels prior to receiving final plat approval. Initial response to the regulation has been positive as some developers have found that the property values of the treated lots increased by more than the cost of treatment. This is the first ordinance in the southwest Colorado area which requires wildfire mitigation prior to development. This ordinance pre-dates the adoption of the Archuleta County Fire Plan.
Archuleta Fire Plan
For the purpose of the Archuleta Fire Plan, mapping of wildfire risk areas was done using a community-based approach. Community leaders and individuals with specialized knowledge of the county land base, such as US Forest Service land managers, the fire district chief, county emergency management personnel, and planning personnel, were interviewed to provide information and opinions on the level of fire risk for private and public lands within the county. This information was then mapped. The criteria for identifying an area of high wildfire risk include:
- Remote areas where fire starts would prove difficult to access or suppress;
- Developing areas with excessive fuel loadings;
- Developing areas lying outside a fire protection district;
- Developing areas adjacent to public lands where terrain and fuel loads pose an increased fire risk;
- Areas with a lack of water resources for fire suppression;
- Areas where pending development may compound fire risk; and,
- Areas where fire starts could spread to sensitive areas, such as community watersheds, archeological resources, wildlife habitat, oil or gas fields, etc.
- Residential areas in which escape routes are the same as those routes which fire fighting trucks and equipment would use in emergencies.
Using this process to identify vulnerable areas, thirty-four areas of private lands along the wildland/urban interface were identified and mapped. Six of these areas have been labeled "at risk", and two areas outside the Fire Protection District were also labeled "at risk". The mapping process was further refined to target the highest risk areas using "The Quick Fire Plan."
Quick Fire Plan
The Quick Fire Plan has two objectives:
1. To identify areas where wildland fire would be highly undesirable, Class A polygons. These are areas where management activities will focus on aggressive fire suppression, prevention, and immediate mitigation work.
2. To identify areas where wildland fire would be undesirable under current conditions, Class B polygons. These are areas where short-term management activities will focus on aggressive suppression and prevention, and long-term fuels reduction.
Criteria for Class A polygons: the existence of values that have a high likelihood of being unacceptably altered or damaged as a result of exposure to fire intensities and durations expected under current conditions. These may be subdivisions, watersheds, viewsheds, infrastructure, cultural resources, etc.
All areas are shown on a map and named with township, range and section number, and analyzed by fire hazard. Class A areas are ranked from those most in need of attention to those in less urgent need. Fire Protection Action Plans have been developed for each area. And future grant funding for mitigation work will be directed to the highest priority areas.
Some of the recommendations for action in the Fire Plan which relate to fuels reduction include;
- develop a public information campaign for high risk areas;
- support and promote private contractors who perform firesafe mitigation work;
- continue to use the Land Use Code for fuels reduction;
- provide means for residents to dispose of slash.
Dolores County Fire Plan
The Dolores County Fire Plan used the community-based mapping approach described above. Seven areas of special concern were identified and mapped. The results were then divided into Class A and B polygons and prioritized and mapped using The Quick Fire Plan.
Some of the recommendations for action in the Dolores County Fire Plan which relate to fuels reduction include:
- develop and sustain a public information program for high risk areas;
- develop county policies to regulate landowner initiated burns;
- develop measures to reduce fire hazards in new developments;
- support and promote private contractors who perform firesafe mitigation work.
Montezuma County Fire Plan
In August 2001, representative from the five fire protection districts in Montezuma County, the Sheriff and fire officials from the Colorado State Forest Service, the San Juan Public Lands Center, and Mesa Verde National Park met to delineate areas of wildfire concern on a countywide map. Each fire district representative identified subdivisions or areas within their service areas considered to be at high risk for wildfire hazard considering the density of flammable vegetation, lack of fire breaks and defensible space around homes, and inadequate road access for firefighting equipment. Fire District representatives identified 14 wildfire hazard areas, which were circled on the map.
A Community Input and Awareness Meeting was scheduled for September 2001. At this meeting Firewise information was presented, the Wildfire Hazard Map was introduced, and the public was asked for their comments. A 15th wildfire hazard area was identified at this meeting. Additionally, fire hazard control businesses had the opportunity to describe their services and talk with property owners, and the CSFS representative discussed technical assistance resources and cost-share grant funds. San Juan National Forest and BLM representatives presented a map of completed and planned wildfire hazard reduction priorities on public land.
A follow-up meeting was held in January 2002, at which the fire chiefs decided to select one hazard area within each of the five fire districts and formulate an outreach strategy specific to that area. The "Quick Fire Plan" was used to refine the Wildfire Hazard Map and delineate the A and B polygons for greater focus on wildfire hazard areas.
Other recommended actions include:
- A public education campaign;
- Wildfire risk reduction prior to construction of new subdivisions;
- Monthly meetings of the fire chiefs and Sheriff for oversight of activities.
San Juan Fire Plan
San Juan County has only 11% of its land in private ownership, and only 539 county residents, with all but 27 of them living within the town of Silverton. Fire hazard risk around the town is Silverton is deemed low.
Recommendations for San Juan County include:
- A public education campaign;
- Better signage in the backcountry, and improved communication of federal fire bans;
- Better equipment for the Silverton/San Juan County Fire Department;
- Coordination of US Forest Service, BLM, CSFS, and local communities for mitigation work in subdivisions, along streams, and in the Bear Creek watershed to protect Silverton's water supply;
- Support and advertise the existence of private contractors and the Southwest Youth Corps to carry out thinning projects.
Contact Information
For more information, contact Bill Ball, via email at [email protected], or by phone him at 970-382-0398.
|
|
