INTRODUCTION DEFINITION OF THE HOME IGNITION ZONE

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1 FIREWISE COMMUNITIES/USA RECOGNITION PROGRAM COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT Lithia Creek Estates Ashland, Oregon INTRODUCTION The Firewise Communities/USA program is designed to provide an effective management approach for preserving wildland living aesthetics. The program can be tailored for adoption by any community and/or neighborhood association that is committed to ensuring its citizens maximum protection from wildland fire. The following community assessment is intended as a resource to be used by the Lithia Creek Estates residents and neighbors for creating a wildfire safety action plan. The plan developed from the information in this assessment should be implemented in a collaborative manner, and updated and modified as needed. A community assessment of both the residential development of Lithia Creek Estates and some of the immediately adjacent properties was conducted on May 18, Attendees were Lithia Creek Estates Firewise board member Nort Croft and resident Cliff Edwards; Ali True, Firewise Communities Coordinator from Ashland Fire and Rescue; and Brian Ballou, Wildland Urban Interface Specialist from the Oregon Department of Forestry. The assessment focused on: flammable vegetation, general fire resistant landscaping characteristics, home construction, and relationship of fire potential and fuels on adjacent properties that could impact residential development. Photos were taken to include in the report. An underlying issue in assessing this community is the role of soil stability in all recommendations made for wildfire preparation. A major landslide that impacted the City of Ashland and caused $4.5 million in damages originated in this neighborhood in 1997 as a result of winter flooding. Thus, all fuel removal recommendations will consider a geologists report on file, and follow minimum vegetation removal requirements so as to not negatively impact slope stability. DEFINITION OF THE HOME IGNITION ZONE Lithia Creek Estates is located in a wildfire-prone environment. Wildfires will happen-- exclusion is not a choice. The environment of Southern Oregon supports active wildfire behavior throughout the region. The variables in a fire scenario are when the fire will occur, and where. This assessment addresses the wildfire-related characteristics of Lithia Creek Estates and the

2 surrounding area. It examines the area s exposure to wildfire as it relates to ignition potential. The assessment does not focus on specific homes, but examines the community as a whole. A house burns because of its interrelationship with everything in its surrounding home ignition zone----the house and its immediate surroundings. To avoid a home ignition, a homeowner must eliminate the wildfire s potential relationship with his/her house. This can be accomplished by interrupting the natural path a fire takes. Changing a fire s path by clearing a home ignition zone is an easy-to-accomplish task that can result in avoiding home loss. To accomplish this, flammable items such as dead vegetation must be removed from the area immediately around the structure to prevent flames from contacting it. Also, reducing the volume of live vegetation will affect the intensity of the wildfire as it enters the home ignition zone. Included in this assessment are observations made while visiting Lithia Creek Estates and the surrounding properties. The assessment addresses the ease with which home ignitions can occur under severe wildfire conditions and how these ignitions might be avoided within the home ignition zones of affected residents. Lithia Creek Estates residents can reduce their risk of destruction during a wildfire by taking actions within their home ignition zones, as well as working with neighboring property owners to manage fuels within their home ignition zones. This zone principally determines the potential for home ignitions during a wildland fire; it includes a house and its immediate surroundings within 100 to 200 feet. The result of the assessment is that wildfire behavior will be dominated by the fuels management on adjacent properties, as well as the vegetation and construction characteristics of the residential area. The good news is that by addressing community vulnerabilities, residents will be able to substantially reduce their exposure to loss. Relatively small investments of time and effort will reap great rewards in wildfire safety. DESCRIPTION OF WILDLAND FIRE CHARACTERISTICS THAT COULD THREATEN THE AREA The area included in the Lithia Creek Estates Firewise Community is located entirely in the City of Ashland Wildfire Hazard Zone (WHZ). Lithia Creek Estates could be affected by wildfire in a variety of ways. One occurrence is through fire activity in the downslope areas of the Ashland Creek drainage that border the neighborhood. Under typical fire conditions, fire activity downslope would run uphill and along the slopes of Ashland Creek drainage, and could shower the subdivision with embers, or heat-carrying firebrands. Those firebrands could then start smaller fires that could then easily spread through hazardous vegetation within the neighborhood to become larger fires that could ignite homes. Another scenario is fire activity on the heavily fueled slopes above Lithia Creek Estates that could impact the neighborhood by ember fallout. Even if the primary fire is uphill, down slope winds could carry embers downhill over the area. The unimproved lots adjacent to the development also hold the potential to impact bordering homes through direct fire behavior. Embers from any fire activity within a ½ mile radius could impact the neighborhood.

3 SITE DESCRIPTION Lithia Creek Estates is a subdivision located on the southwest border of Ashland, Oregon. Ashland is a community bordered by the Siskiyou National Forest, rural farmlands of Jackson County, and forested areas managed by private property owners. Lithia Creek Estates is located near the top of the developed area adjacent to Ashland Creek where it runs through Lithia Park. Ashland Creek drainage is a major topographical feature of central Ashland, and fuels throughout the drainage impact several hundred down slope homes, and the downtown business core. Upslope impacts include the watershed, the Ashland s only source of drinking water, as well as the Rogue/Siskiyou National Forest recreation and timber resources further south. Ashland Creek is a year round creek with moist conditions and lush vegetation within 100 feet of the creek bed. However, the adjacent areas can dry out with summer and fall weather conditions and support extreme fire behavior with its heavy fuel loading, high density residential development, and topographical features. Lithia Creek Estates is located at the edge of City limits, and no residential developments exists upslope. It is bordered by a combination of medium density residential development to the northeast, city-owned parkland to the east, and steep unimproved large lots to the west and south. The subdivision consists of 24 lots averaging.25 acre, with several acres of common space spread throughout the neighborhood. Some of the common spaces are small zones adjacent to parking areas and streets; the largest portion is an11 acre undeveloped hillside lot with considerable fuel loading. Many of the homes are in close proximity, and share home ignition zones with other lots, though some lots are currently vacant. Fire is influenced by three factors: topography, weather, and fuel. Topography: Lithia Creek is located at an elevation of approximately 2200 feet. The neighborhood consists of 15-30% slope, and is adjacent to the steeply sloped Ashland Creek drainage where slopes exceed 35% in places. Many of the home sites have been built on terraces with retaining walls and vegetation put in place for soil stability. Weather: During fire season, June through October, temperatures range on average between 80 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather characteristics are influenced by the prominent topography, with generous upslope winds during the day, and downslope winds at night. Average wind speed is generally 5 to 15 miles per hour; with regular gusts exceeding 20 mph. Humidity ranges between 5 to 35%. General Fuels: General fuels consist of primarily managed ornamental landscaping surrounding residences. The common space vegetation consists of a combination of native brush and small trees, as well as additional conifers and brush planted at the time of development. The surrounding unimproved properties include a variety of fuel types and conditions. Thick brush, unmaintained grass, oakpine-madrone woodland, with a considerable deciduous component all grow in these areas. There is also a significant amount of over-mature manzanita that has begun to collapse and create additional ladder fuels as heavy snowfall deforms the upwards growth habit to a more

4 horizontal pattern. In addition, considerable scotch broom, a fire-prone invasive, has spread throughout the neighborhood. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS The Firewise Communities/USA program seeks to create a sustainable balance that will allow communities to live safely while maintaining environmental harmony in a WUI setting. Homeowners already balance their decisions about fire protection measures against their desire for certain flammable components on their properties. It is important for them to understand the implications of the choices they are making. These choices directly relate to the ignitability of their home ignition zones during a wildfire. Upon entering Lithia Creek Estates, the assessment team observed three issues of concern: 1. Type and condition of vegetation within the smaller Lithia Creek Estates HOA managed common areas. 1.a. Fire-prone vegetation in the common areas between homes can increase severe fire behavior. If they are managed as fire-safe zones, they can offer effective mid-slope fuel breaks between homes.

5 1.b. Thick fuel loading like this row of cedars adjacent to a parking area can offer mid-slope fuel for a fire rather than a fuel break. 2. Overlapping Home Ignition Zones. Most homes in the development share defensible space with neighbors in multiple directions, including unimproved lots. 2. Most of the homes are situated less than 100 feet apart in at least one direction, or are adjacent to empty lots within their HIZ.

6 3. Thickness of brush and ladder fuels throughout the neighborhood, on both common and private lots, as well as unimproved adjacent lots. 3.a. Thick manzanita and brush component throughout the neighborhood. 3.b. Scotch broom, mugo pine and adjacent conifers offer contiguous ladder fuels close to homes. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (All recommendations are based on specific observations and will be listed in bold.) One issue within Lithia Creek Estates is the condition of fire prone vegetation on common HOA-managed areas. These areas are within the HIZ of several houses, and prevent a

7 risk to adjacent structures. While much of the landscaping plants are fire-resistant and wellmaintained, there are enough instances of hazardous vegetation and overgrown vegetation to warrant different plant selection and increased maintenance in some areas. The risk is due to the intense heat hazardous vegetation (manzanita, cedar, etc) can produce if ignited that could transfer to to surrounding plants and nearby houses. Some of the most common offenders are manzanita, scotch broom, and a variety of smaller conifers such as pine, cedar, and ornamental juniper trees. These kinds of plants ignite easily due to their volatile resins, dead inner material, and dense nature. When these kinds of heavy fuels burn, they are also more likely to produce heat-carrying embers that could ignite additional fires downwind. Minimizing the fire potential throughout these common areas provides the opportunity to decrease the spread and alter the path of fire in the neighborhood. The recommendation for managing common area vegetation is based on Firewise landscaping guidelines. Fire-prone vegetation (scotch broom, pine and juniper trees, manzanita, cedar, etc) should be arranged so that ladder fuels are removed, vegetation is well-spaced to prevent plant-to-plant fire spread, and intermixed with fire-resistant plants where possible. If plants can not be safely modified, they should be removed. An additional recommendation is to maintain all fire-resistant planting so that all dead material is removed annually, plants are separated and do not grow together as a hedge, which makes berry invasion and ignition more likely. An example of where this type of maintenance should take place is on the slope above the common parking area near the 600 block of Ashland Creek Drive. Slope is planted with conifers and thick brush that can carry fire into conifers, increasing fire behavior and firebrand production, making upslope homes more vulnerable. It is the recommendation that fire-resistant site-appropriate plantings be used throughout all common areas to reduce risk of fire spread adjacent to homes. Significant fire-resistant plantings already exist as models throughout the subdivision, and provide opportunities for residents to examine their effectiveness and appeal while the fire-prone plants are removed. The photo below indicates how fire-prone plants can be safely modified, and serves an example of a successful Firewise model. The manzanita shrubs are separated from each other to reduce plant-

8 to-plant fire spread, and the dead lower limbs have been removed. The grass is cut low and maintained throughout fire-season. Well-spaced manzanita shrubs with small oak trees upslope In addition to managing the central parking area common space, it is recommended that the strip of common area adjacent to a parking area on lower Ashland Creek Drive also be maintained to provide minimal fuel for a wildfire. It could have the conifer (cedar, fir and pine) trees thinned, dead material removed, and brush eliminated to decrease the potential for fire to spread throughout this area. Providing fuel clearance adjacent to this parking area could be important for fire engines staging in the area during a wildfire. Working with the City of Ashland to clear the adjacent.38 acre lot and maintain it over time is recommended. Ashland Fire & Rescue staff will work to develop that agreement and fuels reduction with the City of Ashland. Incense cedars and fir tree nestled in thick brush could ignite easily and intensify fire behavior adjacent to a parking area. Dead cedar should be removed.

9 Another observation made during the assessment is the occasional use of flammable vegetation within individual lots (see below). When these types of plants are located within 30 feet of a home, they can easily spread and transmit fire to a home s siding, deck or porch, as well as break a window with the extreme heat and large flame lengths they emit. When they are located directly adjacent to a structure, they can easily transmit flames from the ground up to the wooden eaves and roof substructure of a home. The recommendation is to encourage individual homeowners to remove, or modify where appropriate, hazardous vegetation like scotch broom and over-mature manzanita from their lots. Some vegetation can be modified, like removing lower branches on conifers and portions of dead manzanita from an otherwise healthy specimen. By altering this type of vegetation close to homes, exposure from fire to the adjacent structures and neighborhood at large will be reduced. Left unmanaged, fire-prone vegetation that ignites easily and spreads fire can initiate structure ignition and fire spread in the community. Homeowners that effectively manage fire-prone vegetation on their own lots will be creating a defensible space for their own house, as well as their neighbors homes. Because effective defensible space requires vegetation management within 200 feet of a home, it is only by collectively removing the hazardous vegetation that the neighborhood can have cohesive protection from wildfire. This report recommends that owners of vacant lots be included in this effort by pledging to remove over-mature manzanita, scotch broom, dead vegetation, and thick underbrush from their properties. Including the owners of vacant lots is an important strategy in protecting existing homes because those empty lots can offer real protection to surrounding homes in a wildfire. Some ideas for vegetation removal include a scotch broom round-up event, an incentive plan to reward or recognize homeowners for their Firewise landscaping, or altering CC&Rs to require Firewise landscaping in all developed lots. Assessments and recommendations can be obtained free of charge from Ashland Fire & Rescue. Implementing Firewise building and landscaping practices in Lithia Creek Estates can be an increasing part of the present culture of fire safety in the community. Pine trees, scotch broom and mugo pine adjacent to home Row of cypress too close to home

10 Cypress tree located adjacent to structure Conifers located within 30 feet of home provide adequate fuel for wildfire to impact adjacent home A final observation concerns the lots surrounding the Lithia Creek HOA properties. There are undeveloped steep lots uphill, and unassociated residences downhill of the development. First, the report will consider the observations of the undeveloped lots uphill and adjacent to the development, including the 11 acre parcel owned by the HOA. Because of the extreme slope, soil instability and lack of future development options uphill, it is recommended that the fuels be left in the current state. Though heavy fuel loading is present, there are no homes upslope from these lots. There is just as much risk of catastrophic landslide as there is wildfire, and considering the absence of uphill homes, this report will not focus on fuels mitigation on those lots. Because of the considerable risk of landslide and impact to the downhill areas of Ashland should flooding occur, this report will not recommend further fuels work in the upslope empty parcels adjacent to the development. While fuels work could be completed on those properties in the future, it is outside the scope of this assessment, as the focus of Firewise Communities is to reduce home ignition, not perform landscape fuels reduction. An observation regarding the neighboring downhill structures is that the inclusion of these properties is critical to meaningful fire protection in Lithia Creek Estates. Because these homes are located directly downhill, a fire could move through this area with no respect to property boundaries and impact the uphill homes. Including these homes in the Firewise Community boundaries is an excellent idea because in working together, all the residents can provide meaningful wildfire protection to each other. Most of these homes are fairly robust, with only a few fire-prone vegetation issues. Some property owners have completed considerable fuels reduction work and maintain it annually. It is recommended that all homeowners manage their properties following with Firewise recommendations, reducing and modifying fire-prone vegetation, and following recommendations for annual maintenance like weed abatement, gutter cleaning and leaf clean-up. Assessments and recommendations can be obtained from Ashland Fire & Rescue, free of charge, to all residents. These individual efforts can have a communitywide result in wildfire protection.

11 Adjacent downhill lots offer opportunities to remove fire-prone vegetation like pampas grass and maintain weed abatement requirements. SUCCESSFUL FIREWISE MODIFICATIONS When adequately prepared, a house can likely withstand a wildfire without the intervention of the fire service. Furthermore, a house and its surrounding community can be both Firewise and compatible with the area s ecosystem. The Firewise Communities/USA program is designed to enable communities to achieve a high level of protection against WUI fire loss even as a sustainable ecosystem balance is maintained. A homeowner and community must focus attention on the home ignition zone and eliminate the fire s potential relationship with the house. This can be accomplished by disconnecting the house from high and/or low-intensity fire that could occur around it. The following photographs were taken in Lithia Creek Estates and are examples of good Firewise practices Examples of fire-resistant landscaping in place near homes. Located downslope from structures, this landscaping is very important to protecting the structure from downslope fire activity. 2. Individual homeowners are maintaining fire-resistant landscaping and keeping fire-prone vegetation small and separated.

12 Some HOA common areas have been thinned and the vegetation is arranged to minimize fire spread. 4. Many homes feature fire-resistant construction materials, such as this one featuring double pane windows and asphalt composition roof Previous large scale fuels reduction work has been completed that is critical to reducing extreme fire behavior around the neighborhood 6. Paved roads and sidewalks throughout community offer firebreaks, and the neighborhood is served by fire hydrants for water supply. Many residents within Lithia Creek Estates have received a Wildfire Safety Home Assessment from Ashland Fire & Rescue, and then performed the recommended work of Firewise construction and landscaping improvements. This has been a standard practice by many residents prior to the creation of Firewise program in Ashland. In addition, many of the homes within the community are built with fire resistant materials such as fiber cement composition siding and asphalt composition roofs, and have fire-resistant vegetation within their lots. It is by increasing the number of these Firewise homes, performing Firewise practices on common areas, and working with neighbors on adjacent properties, that Lithia Creek Estates will truly function as a Firewise Community. Emergency access and evacuation routes within the community are adequate, due to a paved access road and side streets. Working to maintain the fuels along the street corridor is important because there is only one street serving the subdivision, offering a one-way in and out scenario for residents and emergency responders. While the side streets within the community are dead-end roads, they are relatively short and the entire length can be seen, maintaining visual

13 access for firefighters if needed, without driving around blind curves. Evacuation for residents is signed and would permit a quick and direct route for residents to exit neighborhood if needed down Ashland Creek Drive and then Granite Street towards downtown Ashland. NEXT STEPS The Lithia Creek Estates Firewise Board, in cooperation with Ashland Fire and Rescue, has determined it wishes to seek Firewise Communities/USA recognition based on an April, 2011 community presentation to the HOA and neighboring property owners. The Firewise Board representative contacted the Firewise Communities/USA representative in May, 2011 to relay its decision. After review and acceptance of this assessment, the Lithia Creek Estates Firewise Board will create agreed-upon, area-specific solutions to the Firewise recommendations and create an action plan in cooperation with Ashland Fire and Rescue. Assuming the assessment area seeks to achieve national Firewise Communities/USA recognition status, it will integrate the following standards into its plan of action: Sponsor a local Firewise board, task force, committee, commission or department that maintains the Firewise Community program and status. Enlist a WUI specialist to complete an assessment and create a plan from which it identifies agreed-upon, achievable local solutions. Invest a minimum of $2.00 annually per capita in its Firewise Communities/USA program. (Work done by municipal employees or volunteers, using municipal or other equipment, can be included, as can state/federal grants dedicated to that purpose.) Observe a Firewise Communities/USA Day each spring that is dedicated to a local Firewise project.* Submit an annual report to Firewise Communities/USA. This report documents continuing participation in the program. In moving forward with the Firewise Communities Program, the residents and Homeowners Association of Lithia Creek Estates are acknowledging their partnership with Ashland Fire & Rescue in the mission of reducing home loss to wildfire. Lithia Creek Estates will function as one of the smaller developments within the larger Briscoe neighborhood zone, demonstrating the individual and collective will to enact change in their community and share the responsibility for wildfire preparedness. Congratulations! *Note: There are a variety of ways to implement Firewise projects, and it is not limited to a single day of recognition. If one of the action items is an on-going or seasonal removal of trees, that is acceptable, as long as it is part of the action plan and can be documented as such, as well as accounting for the per capita investment.