T i t l e Community Wildfire Planning Wildfire Prevention, From Planning to Action LGMA Presentation June 19, 2008 Mark Fercho, City of Prince George Environment Manager Mike Dittaro, RFT, Ministry of Forests Fuels Management Specialist Kim Menounos, RPF, City of Prince George Urban Forester Sue Clark, UBCM Program Officer, Local Government Program Services
Agenda Introduction and Overview Acknowledge Problem Develop Plan Conduct Treatments Funding and Support Programs
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C W P P D e t a i l Detailed CWPP Planning Interface Values Suppression Constraints Fire Behavior Analysis to show high hazard interface areas to create fuel breaks between values and hazardous vegetation and high hazard areas for larger fuel reduction projects to modify vegetation.
C W P P P l a n Macro CWPP Planning CWPP Macro City of Prince George 10 km surrounding Work with partners outside City limits to reduce fire fuels on high hazard areas + Reduce fire fuels inside City limits to create fire breaks to slow large fires from outside
After; treated area with fire fuels reduced Before; in newspaper as feature showing obvious fire hazard
Community Wildfire Planning Why should this be a priority to Local Governments? Mike Dittaro
Inventory Provincial Strategic Threat Analysis shows: 1.7 million ha s of forest land that may pose a threat of fire to communities in B.C Further GIS analysis shows: ~ 460,000 ha of this land is MPB affected ~ 10% of this area is within 2km of FN WUI areas ~ 5200 ha is within First Nations reserve lands
Interface Fire Issues Interface defined as Where the Forest meets the Community
How are Buildings Ignited by Wildfire? 1. Firebrand caused ignitions:
How are Buildings Ignited by Wildfire? 2. Radiant heat or flame contact: -vegetation to structure - structure to structure
FUEL TREATMENT UNTREATED TREATED A change in fire behaviour under the same weather and topographic conditions
FireSmart FireSmart community manual (online) FireSmart homeowners manual Joint presentations with OFC and local fire departments
Planning Community Protection Zone (2km) CPZ (2km)
2006 Ipsos-Reed survey Key Finding: 60% of British Columbians support local funding going towards fuel management treatments inside community (22.2 % neutral / 17.1% opposed) 46.8% of British Columbians support local funding for fuel management treatments outside (but still close) to their community (25.7 % neutral / 26.8% opposed)
MPB Implications
Fuel Management Activities When not fighting forest fires, assisting with Fuel Management projects is a top priority for our fire crews. Once high hazard fuels have been identified, fire crews may assist with fuel treatments. In the 2007 fire season, our crews assisted communities on 27 Fuel Management projects (285 ha) throughout the province. Fire personnel were extended through the winter season and competed a further 310 ha on 32 projects.
Implementation Phase of CWPP Prince George Case Study Kim Menounos, RPF Urban Forester, City of Prince George
Where do we start? Implementation three phases Planning Communications Operations
Planning phase one Setting Priorities: Hazard rating inputs are: Slope, stand type, access, structures CWPP modeling will provide some direction for site priority Factors leading to a high fire hazard rating = difficult site, operationally
Planning - site considerations One example of a site rated Very High for fire hazard M2 Steep slopes Homes immediately adjacent Dense fuels, mixed with dead pine Little to no equipment access
1900 1900 650 Planning Site M2 98 98 98 98 98 CLEARWOOD CLEARWOOD CLEARWOOD CLEARWOOD CLEARWOOD CR C 3504 3504 3504 3504 3504 670 650 3536 3539 Polygon 3517 delineates 3514 the City-owned land 3495 3492 Surrounding land privately owned 3484 Red areas 3458 indicate highest fire hazard 1906 1906 1906 1906 1902 1902 1902 1902 1902 3470 680 1966 1966 1966 1966 1966 1954 1954 1954 1954 1954 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1930 1930 1930 1930 1930 1918 1918 1918 1918 1918 1917 1917 1917 1917 1917 1906 3426 Most of the stand is pine/spruce mix, with 3404 3401 patches of deciduous (yellow) 3382 3359 Little to no machine access 3283 3283 3283 3283 3283 660 660 670 680 670 670 660 660 670 650 660 1909 1909 1909 1909 1909 670 680 690 670 660 1961 1961 1961 1961 1961 1953 1953 1953 1953 1953 1941 1941 1941 1941 1941 1929 1929 1929 1929 1929 650 3317 3317 3317 3317 3317 3338 3360 660 690 650 3271 3271 3271 3271 3271 3316 3316 3316 3316 3316 690 3259 3259 3259 3259 3259 3294 3294 3294 3294 3294 3209 3209 3209 3209 3209 3221 3221 3221 3221 3221 3245 3245 3245 3245 3245 BELLAMY RD 3258 3258 3258 3258 3258 3270 3270 3270 3270 3270 3282 3282 3282 3282 3282 650 690 660 3246 3246 3246 3246 3246 690 3234 3234 3234 3234 3234 3222 3222 3222 3222 3222 670 3210 3210 3210 3210 3210 690 3198 3198 3198 3198 3198 650 640 650 650 680 650 660 700 690 660 680
Planning the prescription Fire Fuel Treatment Prescriptions First step in planning the stand treatment Outline the area to be treated Address site-specific challenges such as riparian areas Provide detail about the target stand conditions to guide operational goals
Communications phase two There are only three rules: 1. Communicate 2. Communicate 3. Communicate!
Communications Ensure information is accurate and up to date Use all available media: website, radio, print media advertisements and television news, public meetings when necessary Repeat the message throughout the project. If it s seasonal, start again as if from the beginning Often, one-on-one meetings with residents are necessary and helpful.
Site-level Communications Signs at all site access points Dedicated personnel spotters Work locations announced daily on local radio
Operations phase three 1. Contractor selection Request for Proposal process allowed room for innovative considerations Don t want to be bound by the lowest bidder 2. Site specific challenges Unique to municipalities, not your average logging show 3. Take advantage of the variety of programs available UBCM/NRCan funding Job Creation Program Service Canada Ministry of Forests and Range Protection Fire Crews
Operations contractor selection B.A. Blackwell & Associates Experts in forest ecology, fire behaviour and planning Completed Fire Fuel Treatment Prescriptions for Municipal and Crown land portions in the city Specialize in low impact, undersized equipment ideal for urban sites Focus on achieving target stand condition of high retention Industrial Forestry Services, Ltd Debris management with Job Creation Partnership Added an important social benefit to an otherwise environmental challenge
Operations in action
Operations target stand Before After
Operations target stand
Moore s Meadow
Moore s Meadow - after
Methodology to reduce fire hazard in prescription areas: dead pine removal as per the regular pine beetle tree removal program, remove wind-throw susceptible trees, fuel reduction consisting of pruning and thinning of remaining trees and vegetation This resulted in over 650 logging truck loads of timber recovered for sale from City treatments, and many tonnes of debris Work underway through 2008
C o n s i d e r a t i o n s U r b a n L o g g i n g Operations other considerations Power lines, Gas lines Streams, DFO Archeology, local FN Timber sales, metal Site disturbance, invasive species Wind firm after removal Access management Debris, Debris, Debris
Monitoring the fourth phase How will the stand look in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? Will you still have a reduced fire hazard condition?
Questions?
Federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program Community Wildfire Protection Element
Community Wildfire Protection Element To provide assistance and support to local governments to improve community safety and reduce the risk of property damage by removing beetle killed timber and creating fire breaks in pine forests within or immediately adjacent to municipal boundaries
Program Assistance Preparation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans Development of fuel management prescriptions Implementation of operational fuel management treatments
Funding Program complements UBCM program Up to $100,000 per community is available per Fiscal Year Up to $ 1.5 million of program funding is available in 2008/2009
Eligible Treatments Planning Community Wildfire Protection Plans Wildfire risk assessments / surveys Site treatment prescriptions Block layout Mapping
Eligible Treatments Forest fuel reduction and removal Felling and removal of dead / dying trees Creation of fire breaks Removal of slash/debris Prescribed fire
Eligible Treatments Stand management treatments Stand thinning to reduce crown cover Stand pruning to remove live branches Removal of understory Removal of slash/debris
Implementation Supervision, site inspections, coordination of contractors, and project monitoring If community has qualified staff they may complete implementation in-house May hire a forest professional
Communications Notification of proposed and active project activities to inform the public of proposed and active activities that may temporarily affect the use of the municipal government lands that have been affected by the MPB
Administration Project coordination and implementation Maintenance of government accounting, contracting and financial management standards MPBP financial and information reports
Application Process Proponent to complete the Application Form Applications accepted on a continuous basis Application guidelines and forms available at http://mpb.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/protect/community/wildfire_e.html
Contribution Agreement Developed from the Application in collaboration with proponent Specifies terms, conditions, budget, and reporting requirements Signed by both proponent and NRCAN Work will not begin until a signed Contribution Agreement is in place.
UBCM Strategic Wildfire Initiatives Funding provided by the Ministry of Forests and Range, Province of BC
Community Wildfire Protection Plans A pre-requisite for funding when considering a fuel reduction project through UBCM and NRCAN programming Unlike the NRCAN program, UBCM funding for CWPP s is not tied to MPB infestation
CWPP s for MPB areas UBCM funds 50% of the cost of the plan MPBP funds 25% of the cost of the plan. Using both sources of funding, community contribution is 25% of the cost of the plan. Community contribution can be inkind.
Moving from CWPP to operational treatments An approved CWPP will identify the potential treatment areas When a project is proposed for an MPB area covering both local government and provincial Crown lands, the local government contribution can be greatly reduced by applying to both programs
Operational Fuel Management in MPB stands UBCM funding: Up to 75% of the total project cost on local government and/or provincial Crown land. NRCAN funding: Up to 100% of the cost of the portion on local government land to a maximum of $100,000.
To maximize grant effectiveness Apply for MPBP funding to do eligible work on lands of local government jurisdiction Apply for UBCM funding to do eligible work that extends to provincial Crown lands Use the MPBP funded work to leverage funds from the UBCM program
How to apply Application forms are available on the UBCM website at www.civicnet.bc.ca Applications should be submitted electronically to lgps@civicnet.bc.ca Further information on fuel management is available on line at http://ground.hpr.for.gov.bc.ca This site will again be available for on-line submissions once system enhancements are complete
Contact information Sue Clark UBCM Tel: 250 356 5134 Email: sclark@civicnet.bc.ca Dave Harrison MPBP Tel: 250 363 0723 Email: Dave.Harrison@nrcan.gc.ca