Harris County Community Wildfire Protection Plan IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE I OF THE HEALTHY FOREST RESTORATION ACT OF 2003 “To reduce the wildland fire risk to lives and property in Harris County” AUGUST 2011 2318 Atascocita, Humble, TX 77396 281-436-8000 • 281-436-8025 (fax) www.hcfmo.net In Accordance with Title I of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 This document was prepared by the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management and was completed on August 2, 2011 This Harris County Community Wildfire Protection Plan would not have been a success without the support, commitment, and hard work of personnel from the Fire Departments of Harris County The Texas Forest Service – Mitigation and Prevention Division Harris County Judge Ed Emmett Harris County Commissioners Court and members of the Core Planning Team Harris County page 2 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 _____________________________ _____________________________ Ed Emmett Tom Boggus County Judge Director Harris County Texas Forest Service _____________________________ _____________________________ Mark Sloan Bruce Woods Harris County Office of Homeland Security Dept. Head, Mitigation & Prevention & Emergency Management Texas Forest Service _____________________________ _____________________________ Mike Montgomery Mark Stanford Director / Fire Marshal Fire Chief Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office Texas Forest Service _____________________________ Justice Jones State WUI Coordinator Texas Forest Service Harris County page 3 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 Harris County page 4 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................7 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................9 1.1 Statement of Intent and Goals .................................................................................... 9 1.2 CWPP Core Planning Team ........................................................................................ 10 1.3 The CWPP Planning Process ...................................................................................... 11 2.0 COMMUNITY PROFILE ................................................................................................................ 13 2.1 Geographic Characteristics ........................................................................................ 13 2.2 Communities ............................................................................................................. 19 2.3 Community Resources ............................................................................................... 23 3.0 COMMUNITY HAZARDS .............................................................................................................. 29 3.1 Summary of Wildfire Risk Factors.............................................................................. 29 3.2 Historic Fire Occurrence ............................................................................................ 34 3.3 Existing Drought and Wildfire Situation .................................................................... 36 3.4 Communities at Risk .................................................................................................. 39 3.5 Community Hazard Reduction Priorities ................................................................... 43 3.6 Forest Service Hazard Risk Reduction Priorities ........................................................ 43 4.0 COMMUNITY MITIGATION PLANS .............................................................................................. 45 4.1 Public Outreach and Education ................................................................................. 45 4.2 Reduce Ignitability of Existing Structures .................................................................. 46 4.3 Enhance Emergency Facilities and Equipment .......................................................... 47 4.4 Develop fire-resistant communities .......................................................................... 48 4.5 Develop Organizational Mechanisms ........................................................................ 49 4.6 Develop Financial Mechanisms ................................................................................. 50 5.0 IMPLEMENTATION ...................................................................................................................... 51 5.1 Implementation Progress Checklist ........................................................................... 52 6.0 DECLARATION OF AGREEMENT ................................................................................................... 53 Harris County page 5 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 7.0 APPENDICES................................................................................................................................ 55 7.0.1 Community Participants ......................................................................................... 55 7.0.2 CWPP Goals and Objectives ................................................................................... 56 7.1.1 Watersheds ............................................................................................................ 60 7.1.2 Endangered Species ................................................................................................ 63 7.2.1 Vulnerable Structures and Historic Places .............................................................. 65 7.2.2 Major Roadways in Harris County .......................................................................... 74 7.3.1 Fire Response ......................................................................................................... 76 7.3.2 Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers ............................................................ 81 7.3.3 Public School Campuses in Unincorporated Harris County .................................... 87 7.4.1 Fuel Models and Fire Regime Condition Classes .................................................... 90 7.4.2 Historic Outdoor Fire Data ..................................................................................... 93 7.4.3 Communities at Risk ............................................................................................... 95 7.4.4 Hazard Reduction Priorities .................................................................................... 97 7.5 Common Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................... 101 7.6 Glossary ................................................................................................................... 103 7.7 Credits ..................................................................................................................... 115 Harris County page 6 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Most wildfires in Texas are preventable – more than 90% are caused by people Most wildfires in Texas occur within 2 miles of a community The Harris County Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is the culmination of many months of work by many organizations and individuals. It represents the expertise of fire officials from local fire departments, Harris County, and the State. As part of a continuous, “evergreen” process, the Plan is designed to identify objectives for reducing the risks from wildland fire for the residents of Harris County. Key findings include: 1. An increasing number of people and homes in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) of the County are at risk of damaging wildfires; 2. Overall, wildfire resources are adequate, but there is need for additional and improved wildfire protection especially during severe and extreme drought conditions; 3. Many residents have little understanding about their role in preparing for a potential WUI fire; 4. The cooperative involvement of many agencies and organizations is required to successfully implement this plan; and 5. The funding necessary to successfully address the issues has not been identified. Recommendations are grouped into three primary categories: 1. Public education actions to involve property owners in efforts to improve their own protection; 2. Property development actions to increase awareness and mitigation of wildland fire risk; and 3. Activities to strengthen the wildfire suppression capabilities of the County’s fire departments. Key actions include: 1. Begin a comprehensive program to better educate property owners about wildland fire risk, including use of FireWise Communities©, Ready, Set, Go!, and other programs through community groups such as the Harris County Citizen Corps – Fire Corps Program, the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Texas Forest Service; 2. Improve firefighter tactical information through detailed community risk assessments, to include comprehensive mapping of vegetation and fuel conditions, Fire Regimes and Condition Classes throughout the county; 3. Improve local fire department capabilities with need-based and appropriate recruitment, training, equipment, and pre-attack planning tools; and 4. Reduce structure ignitability through defensive space, use of fire-resistant materials, and fuel mitigation activities in priority neighborhoods based on wildfire risk assessments. Harris County page 7 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 This page