Poudre Fire Authority Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011

POUDRE FIRE AUTHORITY COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN September, 2011 In the Dead of the Night, depicting the 2011 Crystal Fire by Lori Forest www.forestimages.com POUDRE FIRE AUTHORITY COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN 2011 Prepared for: Poudre Fire Authority 102 Remington St. Fort Collins, CO 80524 Prepared by: ______________________________________ Geoff Butler Poudre Fire Authority Reviewed by: _____________________________________ Bob Bundy Colorado State Forest Service Poudre Fire Authority Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 1 Table of Contents Process for Revision and Updates ................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Legislative Authority and Guidance ............................................................................ 9 2. PFA Area Profile ........................................................................................................ 11 2.1 Summary ................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Climate ...................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Terrain ....................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 WUI General Description .......................................................................................... 15 2.4.1 Agricultural and Grassland Intermix ................................................................... 16 2.4.2 Occluded Interface .............................................................................................. 17 2.4.3 Classic Interface or Wildland-Urban Intermix .................................................... 18 2.4.4 Public Lands ........................................................................................................ 19 2.5 Local Fire Environment ............................................................................................. 22 2.5.1 Ponderosa Pine and Ponderosa Pine / Douglas-Fir Communities ....................... 24 2.5.2 Impacts of the Mountain Pine Beetle .................................................................. 25 2.5.3 Mountain Mahogany Shrubland Community ...................................................... 27 2.5.4 Grassland Communities ...................................................................................... 27 3. Hazard / Risk Assessment .......................................................................................... 29 3.1 Modeling Assumptions and Parameters .................................................................... 29 3.2 Summary ................................................................................................................... 30 3.3 Hazard Profile ............................................................................................................ 31 3.3.1 Fuels .................................................................................................................... 31 3.3.2 Potential Fire Behavior ........................................................................................ 36 3.4 Ignitions Profile ......................................................................................................... 45 3.4.1 Cause of Ignitions ................................................................................................ 45 3.4.2 Temporal Distribution ......................................................................................... 46 3.4.3 Geographic Distribution ...................................................................................... 48 3.5 Risk Assessment ........................................................................................................ 50 3.5.1 Western Area - Classic WUI and Intermix ......................................................... 50 3.5.2 Eastern Area - Agriculture/Grass Lands and Occluded Interface ....................... 55 3.5.3 Other Values at Risk ............................................................................................ 57 4. Hazard/Risk Reduction Strategies, Priorities, and Actions ................................... 61 4.1 Mitigation .................................................................................................................. 61 4.1.1 Public Engagement .............................................................................................. 61 4.1.2 Fuels Management Methods ............................................................................... 62 4.1.3 Current Fuels Management Projects ................................................................... 63 4.1.4 Mitigation Action Items ...................................................................................... 65 4.2 Preparedness/Response ............................................................................................. 66 4.2.1 PFA Wildfire Capabilities and Response ............................................................ 66 4.2.2 Preparedness ........................................................................................................ 66 4.2.3 Response and Preparedness Action Items ........................................................... 67 Poudre Fire Authority Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2011 1 4.3 Recovery .................................................................................................................... 67 5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 69 Supporting Documents and Works Cited ..................................................................... 70 Appendix A. List of Fire Management Terms ........................................................... 75 Appendix B. Wildland Fire Primer ............................................................................. 78 Appendix C. Areas of Special Concern ....................................................................... 81 Appendix D. Creating Wildfire Defensible Space ...................................................... 85 Appendix E. Fuelbreak Guidelines for Subdivisions ................................................. 89 List of Maps Map 1. Percent Slope .............................................................................................................. 13 Map 2. Elevation ..................................................................................................................... 14 Map 3. U.S. Forest Service and PFA Boundaries ................................................................... 20 Map 4. PFA WUI Classifications ........................................................................................... 21 Map 5. PFA Fire Regime Condition Classes .......................................................................... 23 Map 6. 2010 Mountain Pine Beetle Activity in Colorado and Southern Wyoming ............... 26 Map 7. PFA Wildland Fuel Models ........................................................................................ 35 Map 8. Surface Fire Behavior Flame Length, Average Case Scenario .................................. 40 Map 9. Surface Fire Behavior Flame Length, Severe Case Scenario - Moderate Wind ........ 41 Map 10. Surface Fire Behavior Flame Length, Severe Case Scenario - High Wind .............. 42 Map 11. Crown Fire Potential, Average Case Scenario - Moderate Wind ............................ 43 Map 12. Crown Fire Potential, Severe Case Scenario - Moderate Wind .............................. 44 Map 13. PFA Wildfire Occurrence ........................................................................................ 49 Map 14. PFA Western WUI, based on ½ mile buffer around roads within jurisdiction. ...... 51 Map 15. Housing Density, houses per square mile in western WUI. Data: PFA, 1999 ....... 52 Map 16. Western WUI Community Risk Ratings ................................................................. 54 Map 17. Eastern WUI Community Risk Ratings .................................................................. 56 Map 18. Open Lands and Fuels Management ....................................................................... 60 Map 19. Fuels Management Projects ..................................................................................... 64 List of Tables Table 1. WUI Action Items ....................................................................................................... 7 Table 2. Fort Collins Climate Data .......................................................................................... 11 Table 3. Average & Severe Case Fire Weather & Fuel Moisture Conditions, 1995-2010 ...... 12 Table 4. PFA WUI Statistics ................................................................................................... 15 Table 5. Wildland Fire Fuel Models ........................................................................................ 31 Table 6. Average and Severe Case Fire Behavior Modeling Parameters ................................ 36 Table 7. Significant Fires of Larimer and

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