Fire History

ELK COUNTY COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN September 2017 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1 Overview of Community Wildfire Protection Plans ................................................................. 2 Need for a Community Wildlife Protection Plan ...................................................................... 3 Goal of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan ........................................................................ 4 Planning Process........................................................................................................................ 4 Core Team ............................................................................................................................. 5 Project Area ........................................................................................................................... 5 Public Involvement ................................................................................................................. 7 Outcomes of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan .............................................................. 7 Building Collaboration ............................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER 2 COMMUNITY BACKGROUND ....................................................... 11 Location and Geography ......................................................................................................... 11 Population ................................................................................................................................. 11 History and Land Use ............................................................................................................... 11 Landownership ......................................................................................................................... 13 Recreation ................................................................................................................................. 15 Private Lands and forest industry ........................................................................................ 18 Climate and Weather Patterns ................................................................................................. 19 Vegetation and Land Cover ..................................................................................................... 22 Forest ................................................................................................................................... 22 Grassland ............................................................................................................................. 29 Riparian areas, Lakes, and Watersheds .............................................................................. 29 Invasive Species .................................................................................................................. 30 Insect and Disease ............................................................................................................... 30 Wildlife .................................................................................................................................. 32 Roads and Transportation ....................................................................................................... 34 Adjoining Counties ................................................................................................................... 34 Page | i CHAPTER 3 FIRE ENVIRONMENT .................................................................... 35 Wildland Urban Interface ......................................................................................................... 35 Fire History ................................................................................................................................ 38 Modern fire occurence ......................................................................................................... 40 Fire Season .......................................................................................................................... 43 Fire Regimes ............................................................................................................................. 43 Fire Regime Classifications ................................................................................................. 44 Fire Regime Condition Class ............................................................................................... 45 Challenges for Future Restoration Efforts ............................................................................. 46 Fire Management Policy .......................................................................................................... 46 Laws, Ordinances, Standards, and Codes for Wildfire Prevention ...................................... 47 Fire Planning ........................................................................................................................ 53 Emergency Management Planning ...................................................................................... 55 Land Management Strategies .............................................................................................. 55 Fire and Response Capabilities .............................................................................................. 59 Responsible Wildfire Agencies (Federal, State, County, and Cities) ................................... 59 Evacuation Resources ......................................................................................................... 64 Water Availability and Supply .............................................................................................. 65 Public Education and Outreach Programs ........................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 4 WUI HAZARD AND RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................... 71 Purpose ..................................................................................................................................... 71 Fire Behavior Model ................................................................................................................. 72 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 72 Fire Behavior Model Components ....................................................................................... 72 Fire Behavior Model Inputs .................................................................................................. 73 Fire Behavior Model Outputs ............................................................................................... 77 Composite Risk/Hazard Assessment ..................................................................................... 78 Community Hazard Assessments........................................................................................... 82 Communities at Risk Descriptions ......................................................................................... 86 Spring creek township .......................................................................................................... 86 Millstone township ................................................................................................................ 87 Ridgway ............................................................................................................................... 89 Johnsonburg ........................................................................................................................ 90 James City and Lamont ....................................................................................................... 92 Wilcox ................................................................................................................................... 93 Saint Marys .......................................................................................................................... 94 Kersey .................................................................................................................................. 95 Weedville, Byrnedale, and Force ......................................................................................... 96 Benezette township .............................................................................................................. 97 Community Values at Risk .................................................................................................... 101 Natural CVARs ................................................................................................................... 101 Socioeconomic CVARs ...................................................................................................... 102 Cultural CVARs .................................................................................................................. 103 CHAPTER 5 COMMUNITY OUTREACH ........................................................... 107 Community Survey, Webinar, and Social Media ................................................................. 107 Page | ii Community Survey ............................................................................................................. 107 Social Media 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