Valley-Hi Ranch Estateshomeowners association

WILDLAND FIREINFORMATIONAL MEETING

w/ Assistant Chief Joe Page, Elk Creek Fire Protection District

- Our wildland fire problem- Overview of wildfire firefighting- Elk Creek Fire’s role- Notifications / Evacuations- Preparedness- Individual effort- Community effort- Q & A

THE FIRE PROBLEM

The problem is that we’ve chosen to live in a fire prone area.

Fires have and will continue to impact our community.

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FRONT RANGE

WILDFIRES

1980 to 2010

Fires have been most prevalent near

where people live and play;

The National Forest campgrounds and near our homes.

LARGE Fire History

1900 to 2011

Notice how little

dark and lite blue

you see?

That’s fire activity from 1900 to 1959.

I’m afraid to see

what 2012 alone

will look like.

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Front Range fire numbers have increased by 500% over the last 4-decades.

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So why are fires increasing in both numbers and size?

- Warmer, drier conditions.- Fire suppression prevents the natural forest

clean-up.- More people = more fire starts.- Less logging = more tress.- Forest health (beetle kill, fungus, over

crowded).

Per Jack Cohen, USFS Researcher

“In some ecosystems, such as ponderosa pine forests in the western US, the reduction of fire occurrences has resulted in significant changes to the species composition and increases in the amount of live and dead vegetation. Furthermore, it has been shown that aggressive fire suppression over many years has changed vegetation fuel structures. This has produced fuel accumulations and arrangements that have enhanced the potential for extensive areas of high intensity wildland fires experienced in recent years.”

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Bitterroot 1909

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Bitterroot 1958

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Bitterroot 1989

As the build up of forest vegetation increases so does the stress on our

forests as the trees compete for sunlight, water, and other

nutrients.

As forest health suffers, tress die and we get the increased potential

for large wildfires.

Beetle Kill

There is a lot of information out on the web about the pine beetle problem.

I’m sure not an expert but what I’ve been hearing lately is that due to our shorter

warmer winters the beetles are now having two reproductive cycles per year. So we’re

now seeing an expediential population growth in the beetles population.

Healthy trees can withstand the beetle’s normal activity.

The combination of unhealthy forests and the epidemic of beetles

is leading to disaster.

When the trees are dead the beetles are long gone.

1st – Dead dry needles will allow fire to move easily from the ground into the tree canopy above.

2nd – After the needles fall they’ll increase surface litter also standing dead trees create a “danger tree” issues for firefighters.

3rd – When the dead trees fall we have dangerous snags and heavy dead and down which is much harder for firefighters to deal with.

Beetle Kill

Wildland Fire

Problems

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OAK BRUSHburns hot and fast

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Dense Conifer forests burn so hot that it can kill the trees and the surface vegetation.

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An open Conifer forest often burns less intensely, the trees survive, and the surface vegetation is cleaned up and often

comes back stronger – look at the Meyer Ranch area.

ASPENS

Live aspen trees tend not to burn due to

the amount of moisture in their

leaves.

Aspen groves often act like a fire break slowing fire spread.

I’ve planted aspens around my house

CAUSES OF WILDLAND FIRE

- Lightning- Power lines- Railroads & other machinery- Illegal burning (debris)- House or car fires- Mismanaged camp fires & other legal burns- Arson

How do we fight wildland fires?1st – Prevention, but we can’t prevent all fires.

2nd – Get-em while they’re small, hit the fire hard and fast. (Local fire departments)

3rd – Anchor, flank, and pinch

LIFE SAFETY is always our top priority!

We’ll risk a lot to save a life.

We risk a little to save property.

We risk nothing to safe life or property already lost.

Key factors contributing to all wildfires:FUELS

TOPOGRAPHYWEATHER

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Some fires grow so huge that firefighters can’t fight the fire so we remove fuels ahead of the fire

and/or we treat the fuels ahead of the fire

Firefighter actions on large fires:- help evacuate those in the path of the fire- provide structure protection for as long as we can- cut fire breaks out in front of the fire if possible- use slurry on the vegetation to retard the fire spread - work at night when RH is high and fire activity is low- secure fire lines along the black burned area- burnout controllable areas out in front of the fire- get in fast after the fire front passes

Elk Creek Fire Protection DistrictWe are a mostly volunteer combination fire department staffed by 6-full time firefighters working in three teams of two on the 48/96 shift. Plus the Fire Chief, Fire Marshal and myself who also respond to emergency incidents. Currently our roster has about 65 volunteer firefighters. All our firefighters are trained and certified in: Structural Firefighting

Emergency Medical Services

Hazardous Materials response

Rescue Operations (MVAs / Rope)

and Wildland Firefighting

All our volunteers are toned to all emergency calls.

During the Lower North Fork Fire we requested and received help from all over the country.

Since the Lower North Fire small teams of Elk Creek Firefighters have helped out at other large fires in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

Elk Creek’s Tender 462 operating at the Squirrel Creek Fire in the Medicine Bow National Forrest just west of Laramie WY.

Yes that’s a C-130 dropping slurry in the background.

Our biggest problem during a wildland fire is EMBERS

How many of you saw the u-tube video from the Lower North Fork Fire of the family driving out?

EMBERS start spot fire out in front of the fire front. Sometimes a mile or more

ahead. Embers impede evacuations.

EMBERS are what burns down most homes!

STRUCTURE PROTECTION

Structure Protection is when firefighters go into a neighborhood out in front of the fire to do “speed

mitigation” around people’s homes, prep the home, and put out as many spot fires as they can

until it’s too unsafe for them to stay.

NOTIFICATIONS

Reverse 911 aka EPN (Emergency Preparedness Network) is a recorded phone call to landlines and registered mobile phones within a given area.

Jeffco SO’s going door to door, sometimes firefighters too.

Your neighbors

Jeffco Sheriff’s blog / Pinecam / 285Bound / local radio

DON’T WAIT to be told, if you feel threatened GO!

EVACUATIONSREADY – SET – GO!

Level 1: READY! There is an incident in the area. If you need extra time due to special needs leave now. There are no road closures at this time.

Level 2: SET! This is a mandatory evacuate notice, get out now. Reentry into the area will not be allowed. You may take time to gather things but at your own risk.

Level 3: GO! NOW this is a life or death situation.

PLAN be ready

FEMA, Park County, and Jefferson County all talk about a 72-Hour kit.

That’s for flat lander’s we’re mountain people and must be ready to survive on our own for a

week without power

Food, water, first-aid kit, medications, etc.

Remember the big snow?

Plan to be evacuatedthe 5P’s

People

Pets

Pills

Photo

Papers, important

Have a plan – follow the plan!

Why do houses burn? How to I protect my house?

Look around your house after a wind storm and see where the pine needles and

pine cones are –

that’s where the EMBERS will be too.

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Flammability of some common decking materials:

BoardWalk 25

Redwood 70

TREX 80 (YEP!)

Douglas Fir 100

Ponderosa Pine 154

Rhino Deck 169

DO YOUR RESEARCH !

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Flammability of some common siding materials

Hardie plank 0

Polystrene 7

Gypsum 9

Treated Doug fir plywood 17

Cedar 70

Doug Fir plywood 91

T1-11 sidling 200

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

START!Far too often when people feel a task is too

overwhelming they just give up.

There’s the old saying, “When you ask for 100% you often get 0” I’m not here to tell you to cut all your trees or rebuild your house out of concrete, many of the little,

simple, cheap things will make huge differences.

Prepare an evacuation plan

What are you going to take if you have:

30-minutes, 15-minutes, 1-minute to GO?

Where are you going to meet if you are separated from your family?

What if your kids are in school?

Do you have a neighbor who needs help?

MITIGATION

- Take responsibility for your home and property.

- Display your house number

- Work on your defensible space, start at the

house and work out a little more each year

- clean gutters and under decks

- keep grass and shrubs away from the house

- cut your grass, limb up tree branches- Work with and help your neighbors- Start a Firewise USA Community

Shared Risk

So many of our homes are so close to each other that they share defendable spaces.

Homes downhill from yours will have a huge impact on the fire load you’ll see

Roads, escape routes, water supply issues are common to everybody in the community

Other groups who help us

Jefferson County Type-3 IMT

Jefferson County Animal Control works with:

Large Animal Rescue Group (HEAT)

Small Animal Rescue Group

USEFUL LINKS

www.elkcreekfire.org

www.evergreenfirerescue.com

www.firewise.org

www.jeffco.us

www.wildlandfireRSG.org

www.projectwildfire.org

Yep I do work a little

QUESTIONS?