Del Norte County Fire Safe Council Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2020 Volume 1
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Del Norte County Fire Safe Council Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2020 Volume 1 Del Norte Fire Crews Prevent Large Propane Explosion at Walmart Gasquet Complex Fire 2015 Prepared by: Bridgeview Consulting, LLC. 915 No. Laurel Lane Tacoma, WA 98406 (253) 301-1330 Red Mountain Lookout Del Norte County Fire Safe Council Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2020 This plan is a project of the Del Norte Fire Safe Council PO Box 1135 Crescent City, CA 95531 www.delnortefiresafe.org (707) 951-5437 Acknowledgments This Community Wildfire Protection Plan represents the efforts and cooperation of many organizations and agencies; through the commitment of people working together to improve the preparedness for wildfire events while reducing factors of risk. On behalf of the Planning Committee, we thank you for your efforts! Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.1 WHY PLAN? ........................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 OVERVIEW OF THIS PLAN AND ITS DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................... 1-2 1.3 DEL NORTE FIRE SAFE COUNCIL .............................................................................................................. 1-3 1.4 FUNDING ................................................................................................................................................... 1-3 1.5 PLANNING UNIT BOUNDARIES .................................................................................................................. 1-4 1.6 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ................................................................................................................................ 1-4 1.7 PLANNING PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS ........................................................................................................ 1-5 1.8 INTEGRATION WITH OTHER PLANNING GUIDELINES ................................................................................. 1-6 2 PLANNING PROCESS .................................................................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANNING PROCESS ................................................................................................ 2-1 2.2 PLANNING COMMITTEE ............................................................................................................................. 2-2 2.3 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ............................................................................................................................ 2-5 3 DEL NORTE COUNTY PROFILE .............................................................................................................. 3-1 3.1 GEOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................. 3-1 3.2 SOILS ........................................................................................................................................................ 3-1 3.3 CLIMATE ................................................................................................................................................... 3-2 3.4 DEMOGRAPHICS ........................................................................................................................................ 3-2 3.5 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................ 3-5 3.6 TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................................... 3-6 3.7 VEGETATION IN DEL NORTE COUNTY ...................................................................................................... 3-6 3.8 AIR QUALITY ............................................................................................................................................ 3-9 3.9 HYDROLOGY ........................................................................................................................................... 3-11 3.10 WILDFIRE ECOLOGY ............................................................................................................................... 3-12 4 WILDLAND FIRE ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 WILDFIRE HISTORY .................................................................................................................................. 4-3 4.3 RISK ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................................... 4-8 4.4 DEL NORTE FIRE SAFE PLANNING UNIT BOUNDARIES ........................................................................... 4-20 4.5 DEL NORTE COUNTY’S WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE ......................................................................... 4-24 4.6 DEL NORTE COUNTY COMMUNITIES AT RISK ........................................................................................ 4-29 5 DEL NORTE COUNTY WILDFIRE-PROTECTION AGENCIES .......................................................... 5-1 5.2 WILDLAND FIRE DISTRICTS ...................................................................................................................... 5-9 6 MITIGATION STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLAN ................................................................................ 6-1 6.1 WILDFIRE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES .......................................................................................................... 6-2 6.2 STRATEGY TOPICS .................................................................................................................................... 6-2 6.3 COUNTY-WIDE WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ............................................................................. 6-4 6.4 REGIONAL LAND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................. 6-4 6.5 CAPABILITIES ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................... 6-5 6.6 PROPOSED PROJECT AREAS .................................................................................................................... 6-11 6.7 STATUS OF PREVIOUS WILDFIRE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES ..................................................................... 6-11 6.8 PRIORITIZATION SCHEME - BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 6-13 6.9 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ....................................................................................................................... 6-18 6.10 DEL NORTE COUNTY WILDFIRE PROTECTION IDENTIFIED NEEDS .......................................................... 6-22 6.11 RESOURCE AND CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENTS ....................................................................................... 6-23 6.12 LAND USE TRENDS ................................................................................................................................. 6-23 7 PLAN MAINTENANCE ................................................................................................................................ 7-1 8 PLAN EXECUTION ...................................................................................................................................... 8-1 8.1 SIGNATURE PAGES .................................................................................................................................... 8-1 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................ 8-1 Bridgeview Consulting, LLC i Introduction 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 WHY PLAN? California experienced the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in its history in 2017 and 2018. Fueled by drought, an unprecedented buildup of dry vegetation and extreme winds, the size and intensity of these wildfires caused the loss of more than 100 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and exposed millions of urban and rural Californians to unhealthy air.1 Climate change, an epidemic of dead and dying trees, and the proliferation of new homes in the wildland urban interface (WUI) magnify the threat and place substantially more people and property at risk than in preceding decades. More than 25 million acres of California wildlands are classified as under very high or extreme fire threat, extending that risk over half the state. WUI fires represent an increasingly significant concern for the State of California. California has a chronic and destructive WUI fire history with significant losses of life, structures, infrastructure, agriculture, and businesses. Most local governments that have submitted Local Hazard Mitigation Plans (LHMPs) have identified fire and WUI fires as specific hazards. Even relatively small- acreage WUI fires may result in disastrous damage. Del Norte County is no exception to the increasingly common problem of loss from wildfire. Fuel loads have been accumulating to abnormal levels throughout the West, due to decades of fire suppression and timber harvesting. When residents in the wildland-urban interface understand why fire safety is important,