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Title: |
Flagstaff and Surrounding Communities --Community Wildfire Protection Plan
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Type: |
Community Planning
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Jurisdiction: |
City/town
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State: |
Arizona
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Program Description: |
Background
In 1996, a particularly active fire season focused public attention on the forest health conditions in the greater Flagstaff area. The realization of the community�s exposure to catastrophic losses of life, property and resources in the event of wildfire, energized and committed the populace to take action. In response, the Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership (GFFP) was founded and an existing organization, the Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council (PFAC) accelerated their involvement in wildfire protection.
The GFFP is comprised of 27 members representing federal, state, county, and municipal agencies, NGO�s, private industry, and universities, with a commitment to ecological restoration and wildfire protection. The PFAC is a 16 member group of state and local emergency and fire prevention officials. The PFAC has focused its efforts on response to fire events and public education, while the GFFP has focused on forest restoration and community protection in 10,000-acre blocks around the community.
Since the inception of the GFFP, continued wildfire activity, along with education and demonstrations of effective wildfire mitigation strategies, such as prescribed burning, have resulted in a public supportive of forest treatments. With the City of Flagstaff averaging 60 to 80 wildfires per year, the public is regularly reminded of the threat of wildfire.
The Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for Flagstaff and the Surrounding Communities outlines the actions needed to prepare and equip the community to live in its fire-adapted ponderosa pine ecosystem with a reduced risk of loss and damage in the event of wildfire. The Plan can be viewed in its entirety at this website, www.gffp.org/media/pdf/CWPP-Report-02-28-05.pdf. The Plan is a collaborative effort of the GFFP and the PFAC, developed with strong citizen support, and consultation with the Coconino National Forest which operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the GFFP. The CWPP was developed in accordance with parameters established in the Health Forests Restoration Act of 2003 and received final approval from state, county and local officials in January 2005.
The purpose of the Plan is to:
- Restore natural ecosystem structures, function, and composition of ponderosa pine forests.
- Manage forest fuels to reduce the probability of catastrophic fire.
- Research, test, develop, and demonstrate key ecological, economic, and social dimensions of restoration efforts.
Area Hazard Assessment
The Northern Arizona University Forest Ecosystem Restoration Analysis (ForestERA) Project provided baseline data and a framework to illustrate the threat of wildfire and the potential impacts of a range of treatments that could be applied. Satellite imagery and GIS were used to design treatment scenarios which were examined for the cumulative effects of various options and to predict fire behavior. Because the coarse scale of the analysis, Jurisdictions-Having-Authority (JHA�s) are advised to collect site-specific data and adjust priorities, treatment methods, and locations as needed.
The area of analysis incorporated rough 1,465 square miles of lands under federal, state, municipal and private ownership. Approximately 81 per cent of the area analyzed is located within the Coconino National Forest. The full-time population of the area is roughly 75,000 with and additional 20,000 visitors daily.
A threat matrix was developed using the ForestERA data. Using the model, individual and cumulative effects of a variety of possible parameters were analyzed to establish the Greater Flagstaff WUI boundaries. The five defining parameters used in the final analysis were:
- Communities
- Municipal watersheds
- Type of fire behavior predicted
- Post-fire flooding potential
- Areas upwind from at-risk communities (six miles).
A minimum buffer value of 1.5 miles around at-risk communities was used in Plan development. The Threat Level was divided into categories of high, medium, and low bases on the threat matrix analysis. Approximately 43 per cent of the area was found to be of moderate or high risk.
Fuel Hazard Reduction
The historic pattern of fire interval in the Flagstaff area of 2-7 years was altered by human interventions beginning in the 1880�s. Over time, the forests have become over-stocked and heavy fuels have accumulated due to fire exclusion policies. A three year period of relatively wet weather from 1917-1920, coupled with an exceptionally heavy cone crop in 1919, set the stage for the intense wildfires experienced today. Intensive treatments are needed to reduce stocking to an acceptable level. The basal area of Ponderosa pine currently ranges from 150-200 square feet per acre. Recommended treatment for desired future conditions will reduce this stocking to 40-80 square feet of basal area per acre.
Detailed silvicultural recommendations are outlined in the Plan as a general guide and framework. Guidelines for tree selection include selective thinning from below with leave trees left in a clumped pattern of 1/10th to 1 or more acres. Trees will generally occupy 20-50 per cent of the area after treatment. Factors to consider in tree selection for removal include contribution as a ladder fuel, tree health, age and size of tree with older, large diameter trees retained whenever possible. Considerations for tree selection with regards to overall fire behavior alignments such as prevailing wind direction, shading, slope, fuel arrangement and options for suppression tactics in the event of a fire are discussed in the Plan. Cutting techniques, utilization, slash treatment, broadcast burning, maintenance of treated sites, and community involvement during treatments are also addressed.
Types of treatments are based on the �coarse filter approach� utilized in the ForestERA and terms defined in the analysis. Five types of treatments with various combinations and levels of thinning and burning are recommended and defined. Priority treatments are proposed to convert areas with predicted Active Crown Fire to Passive Crown Fire near communities or infrastructure. A second level of treatment is for areas of predicted Surface Fire behavior.
Based on the ForestERA data, the CWPP provides estimates of the acreage of treatment needed and the associated cost, for the five treatment types within the WUI zone as well as the area beyond the WUI but within the Analysis Area. The CWPP estimates 197,333 acres at a cost of $123,800,000 for initial fuels treatment within the WUI. For the Analysis Area located outside the WUI, about 542,000 acres are in need of treatment at estimated cost of $148,600,000. The Plan points to the needed infusion of funds from the use of small-diameter logs in sustained, wood-based enterprises to offset the high cost of mitigation.
The ForestERA model also generates predicted effects of treatments on fire behavior. Applying the treatments proposed in the CWPP, the model predicted a shift of 94 per cent in the WUI acreage with a predicted active crown fire to the less threatening passive crown fire category.
Coconino National Forest Fire Prevention Efforts
Coconino National Forest officials have conducted a comprehensive assessment of wildfire risk at the compartment level using the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategies (RAMS) planning process. Through the process a composite ranking was assigned to each compartment based on the analysis of fuels hazard, protection capabilities, ignition risk, fire history, values at-risk, and catastrophic fire potential. Based on the assessment, a Fire Prevention Program was developed. For details of specific activities conducted under the plan, you may view this website, www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.
A recent agreement between the USFS and various fire department and districts allows the local districts to volunteer personnel and equipment of the USFS prescribed burning operations. It is hoped that the agreement will lead to more effective hands-on training for volunteer firefighters and greater treatment accomplishments on the National Forests.
Reducing Wildfire Risk on Private Property
The CWPP discusses measures to create more fire-wise properties and neighborhoods. The Plan recommends collaboration between Planning Departments, developers, and fire districts to incorporate Firewise subdivision design, infrastructure, and defensible space standards in planning new developments. Specific recommendations for fuels treatments, landscaping projects, and the use of fire resistive materials and construction techniques are outlined, as well. Home hazard assessments, offered free-of-charge to homeowners and establishment of Block-Watch or Woods-Watch groups are means suggested to spur residents to take action.
To improve protection capabilities, initiation or further development of existing efforts is recommended. These activities include:
- Survey existing subdivisions to establish priorities for individual treatments,
- Establishing a regional fire crew comprised of many partners under a single leadership with standardized training, equipment and treatment standards,
- Increased public education utilizing new outreach methods,
- Adequate funding and/or sufficient oversight of fire protection legislation and subsequent grant processes,
- Recruitment of small-diameter wood-based industry,
- Formation of fire districts in areas currently outside of existing coverage,
- Develop data layers for Winona and Sedona areas for the ForestERA analysis that were not included in the initial CWPP analysis,
- Develop a standardized Neighborhood Wildfire Assessment form for Flagstaff (Allstate Insurance Company has funded this endeavor) with subsequent expansion to entire CWPP area,
- Incorporate the CWPP into existing projects and established land management and agency plans,
- Sustained involvement with the statewide fire assessment mapping system that is currently underway,
- Adoption and enforcement of regulatory code for firesafe subdivision design, infrastructure and defensible space.
Monitoring Plan Progress
The CWPP recommends establishing a Review Team comprised of Plan collaborators, partners, and private citizens to evaluate and report on the accomplishments and challenges in meeting the goals of the Plan. Further, the Plan proposes that the Review Team design and coordinate a multi-party monitoring program to acquire data for the purposes of determining Plan implementation status and to facilitate adaptive management.
All CWPP projects must establish a project-specific plan for monitoring progress towards goals and allocate funds for monitoring project progress. The Review Team will base its evaluation on three overarching goals: 1) educate and involve the public, 2) reduce wildfire threat and improve forest health through prioritized forest treatments, and 3) the use of Fire Wise building techniques and principles. Evaluation of project goals will be based on four criteria: 1) implementation of treatments, 2) effectiveness of the various treatments, 3) achieving an understanding of the interaction of forest treatments and their affects on ecology on both a project and landscape scale, 4) monitoring public attitudes, and 5) economic impacts of treatments.
The Review Team has been established and had held its first meeting in June, 2005.
Supporting Documents
Several reports and documents were referenced in the body of the CWPP that were critical to its development and may be of interest to the reader. Complete citations are listed in the Plan bibliography. Sources include:
- Guiding Principles for Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Community Protection, Arizona Forest Health Advisory Councils
- Initial and Extended Attack Wildland Fire Operations Plan for the PFAC Response Area, Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council
- Community Smoke Management Plan for the PFAC Response Area, Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council
- Utilization: GFFP Accomplishments and Work Plan. Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership
- Coconino National Forest Prevention Management Plan, USFS
- GFFP Monitoring and Research Team Adaptive Management Framework, Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership.
Contact information
For further information, contact Paul Summerfelt by phone at 928-779-7688, or via email at [email protected].
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