Orleans/Somes Bar Community Wildfire Protection Plan
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OOrrlleeaannss//SSoommeess BBaarr CCoommmmuunniittyy WWiillddffiirree PPrrootteeccttiioonn PPllaann A Collaborative Fire Protection Strategy for the Communities of Orleans and Somes Bar Coordinated by the Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council Orleans, California January 2012 Acknowledgements Thank you to Cybelle Immitt, Lucy Salazar, Bill Tripp, Mark Rodgers, Hugh Scanlon, Tracy Katelman, Jim Villeponteaux, Max Creasy, Ben Riggan, Frank Lake, Penny Eckert, Todd Salberg, Roberta Coragliotti, Tom Bouse, Chris Root, Nancy Bailey, Will Harling, and Luna Latimer Funding provided by a National Fire Plan grant from the USDA Forest Service through the California Fire Safe Council and The County of Humboldt Orleans/Somes Bar Community Wildfire Protection Plan 1. OBJECTIVES OF A COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: ..................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION: .....................................................................................................................................................................................1 ABOUT THE OSB FSC............................................................................................................................................................................3 DECISIONMAKERS..................................................................................................................................................................................4 FEDERAL AND TRIBAL AGENCIES ..........................................................................................................................................................4 STATE/LOCAL AGENCIES .......................................................................................................................................................................5 INTERESTED PARTIES.............................................................................................................................................................................6 2. FIRE ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................................................................................7 TOPOGRAPHY, SLOPE, ASPECT, ELEVATION ..........................................................................................................................................7 METEOROLOGY, CLIMATE, PRECIPITATION ...........................................................................................................................................7 HYDROLOGY..........................................................................................................................................................................................7 PAST FIRE ENVIRONMENT......................................................................................................................................................................8 PRESENT FIRE ENVIRONMENT................................................................................................................................................................9 FUTURE FIRE ENVIRONMENT ...............................................................................................................................................................11 3. ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY BASE MAP ..................................................................................................................................13 4. DEVELOP A COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT .....................................................................................................................26 5. DEVELOP THE OVERALL COMMUNITY PRIORITY ............................................................................................................30 6. COMMUNITY HAZARD REDUCTION PRIORITIES AND PRESCRIPTIONS ....................................................................34 RECOMMENDED PRESCRIPTIONS..........................................................................................................................................................34 PRIORITIES ...........................................................................................................................................................................................36 7. ACTION PLAN AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGY......................................................................................................................41 SUPPLEMENTAL ACTION PLANS...........................................................................................................................................................58 8. RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE STRUCTURAL IGNITABILITY ................................................................................59 DEFENSIBLE SPACE..............................................................................................................................................................................59 FIREWISE CONSTRUCTION....................................................................................................................................................................59 9. FINALIZE THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN .....................................................................................61 APPENDIX A: RESOURCE MATERIALS AND ADDITIONAL REFERENCES .......................................................................67 APPENDIX B: LIST OF ACRONYMS...............................................................................................................................................68 APPENDIX C: GLOSSARY OF TERMS ...........................................................................................................................................69 APPENDIX D: POTENTIAL CONTROL FEATURES....................................................................................................................74 APPENDIX E: CRITICAL INFORMATION AND RED ZONE SURVEY FORMS.....................................................................77 APPENDIX F: RED ZONE SURVEY FORM....................................................................................................................................82 APPENDIX G: OVERVIEW OF NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGNATIONS.......................................................................................94 APPENDIX H: DETAILED PRESCRIPTIONS FOR DEFENSIBLE SPACE AND EMERGENCY ACCESS ROUTES. .......96 APPENDIX I: CALIFORNIA STATE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE FOR DEFENSIBLE SPACE .........................................98 APPENDIX J: ORLEANS/SOMES BAR DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ACTION PLAN (MAY 29, 2012)...................................99 1. Objectives of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan: Introduction: In response to federal and state legislation, the Orleans/Somes Bar community started preparing a community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) to enhance collaboration between local, state, tribal and federal wildland fire protection agencies, as well as community members. Local communities now have a unique opportunity to influence where and how federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal lands, and how federal funds may be distributed on non-federal lands. Wildland fires are a common occurrence in the Klamath-Siskiyou region; the Orleans-Somes Bar area has a long history of wildland fire. For untold millennia, the Karuk Tribe used prescribed fire to manage for the health of natural and cultural resources. Also, lightning fires are prevalent, especially at higher elevations. The forests early European settlers saw in the Mid Klamath region were shaped by anthropogenic and lightning fires. Today, many people in this region still view fire as a powerful tool to be used carefully and thoughtfully. The Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council facilitated this planning process, with the assistance of the Orleans Volunteer Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, Karuk Tribe, California Department of Forestry and Fire, Salmon River Fire Safe Council, Humboldt County Fire Safe Council, Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County, Siskiyou County, private landowners and the community at large. The Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council (OSB FSC) is a group composed of community members, community service providers (such as the Orleans Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD)), and representatives from the Karuk Tribe, United States Forest Service (USFS), California Department of Forestry (CAL FIRE), and other land management Figure 1.1: 1999 Megram Fire agencies. Since May of 2001, the OSB FSC has been acting on the direction of the National Fire Plan (USDA Forest Service 2000), which instructs federal land managing agencies to work closely with communities to protect people and resources in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). In 2001, the Western Governor’s Association published a 10- year comprehensive strategy for reducing wildland fire risks to communities and the environment, which further highlighted the role of communities in shaping fire and fuels management decisions on private and adjacent public lands. The purpose of this Plan is to provide the communities, agencies and the Karuk Tribe with information that can be used to help protect Orleans and Somes Bar from severe wildland fires, while helping to guide the planning and implementation of community fire safety projects. This Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) planning area is in northwestern California in Humboldt, Siskiyou, and a small portion of Del Norte Counties. Specifically, this plan addresses