Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week 2009 Summary Report
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Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week 2009 Summary Report Submitted by: Ed Smith, Natural Resource Specialist Sonya Sistare, Wildfire Project Coordinator Event Summary Report The fourth annual Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week (NWAW) was held May 3 - 9, 2009. Assisted by grant funds from BLM, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension coordinated this multi-agency effort. Through those collaborative efforts, additional funding sources, public service contributions by corporate sponsors, and in-kind contributions (see page 9), we were able to reach a large and varied audience. The 66 collaborators in this endeavor included: Americom Broadcasting Nevada Department of Public Safety - Ameristar/Cactus Pete’s Resort Casino State Fire Marshal Division Associated General Contractors - Nevada Department of Transportation Nevada Chapter Nevada Division of Forestry Audubon Society Nevada Fire Chiefs Association Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Nevada Fire Safe Council Boy Scouts of America - Spring Nevada Insurance Council Mountain Nevada Magazine Bureau of Land Management Nevada State Firefighters Association Carson City Fire Department Nevada Tahoe Conservation District Casino Fandango North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection Clark County District Clark County Fire Department Nye County Douglas County NV Energy East Fork Fire & Paramedic District Pershing County Elko County Pioneer Crossing Casino Eureka County Red Lion Hotel & Casino, Elko Evergreen Recycling Reno Fire Department Galena High School Reno Gazette-Journal Get Outdoors Nevada Republic Services Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada Tahoe Rubbish Runners Shores Senator Harry Reid Governor Gibbons Sierra Fire Protection District Grand Sierra Resort Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators Great Basin Outdoor School Sparks Fire Department Humboldt County Spring Mountain Volunteer Association KRNV - News 4 Southern Nevada Woody Biomass KUNR - 88.7 FM Working Group Lake Valley Fire District Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District Las Vegas Metropolitan Volunteer Tahoe Resource Conservation District Police Association USDA Forest Service Las Vegas Valley Water District University of Nevada Cooperative Lyon County Extension Moana Nursery Washoe County Nevada Association of Counties Westcare Nevada Cattlemen’s Association White Pine County Nevada Department of Conservation Whole Foods Market - Las Vegas and Natural Resources 2 This year, the planning committee chose “Be Ember Aware!” as the theme and focus of promotional efforts. This served as a great launch to a planned educational campaign to continue teaching Nevada residents how to protect their homes from the threat of burning embers during a wildfire. Efforts included 121 events and activities with over 3,500 direct participants and approximately 1,232,000 indirect participants. This report summarizes those events and activities that occurred as part of NWAW. NWAW Planning Committee Bureau of Land Management Steve Edgar Ruta Glinski Carson City Fire Department Larry McPhail Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources Bob Conrad Nevada Division of Forestry Kelli Baratti Joe Fording Mike Dondero Nevada Fire Safe Council Jason Arnold Ann Grant Candace Lowery Pat Murphy Terri Sumner Nevada State Firefighters Association Mike Heidemann Reno Fire Department Steve Frady Joan Presley Sierra Fire Protection District Dulcie Lilly Mark Reagan Sparks Fire Department Bill Finley University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Marilyn Ming Kim Otero Sonya Sistare Ed Smith USDA Forest Service Mike Crawley Patty Eder Washoe County Kurt Latipow 3 Key Results All of Nevada’s 17 counties actively participated 10 counties issued proclamations or resolutions in support of NWAW 121 events or activities were held as part of NWAW, which included promotional efforts and Proclamations/Resolutions. (See list of event/activities by county - Attachment 1) 3,528 people attended community events and 4,517 others received information via direct mail 6,127 pieces of educational/promotional materials were distributed 66 partners collaborated on these efforts A multi-state Proclamation was issued for California, Nevada & Oregon Key Events A statewide kick-off event was held on Friday, May 1 at the Nevada Division of Forestry Western Region Office. Organized by Kelli Baratti, Nevada Division of Forestry, this event featured presentations by Pete Anderson, Nevada State Forester, Ed Smith, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE), and Matthew Tuma, Senator Reid’s office. Following the presentation, a demonstration was planned to show how quickly burning embers could ignite a home if proper steps were not taken. The demonstration house was construction entirely thru the donation of materials by various sponsors, and labor by the student at Galena High School’s Construction Technology Program in cooperation with Sierra Fire Protection District, in-kind contributions totaled approximately $1,000.00. Unfortunately, weather conditions did not allow the burn to take place. Additionally, Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators participated by providing refreshments during the event, in-kind contributions $200.00. (See photographs - Attachment 2) The Third Annual Junk the Junipers event was held at two locations in the Reno area to encourage homeowners to remove their ornamental junipers growing within the first 30 feet of their home. This project was a collaboration between Moana Nursery, Reno Fire Department, Rubbish Runners Waste Disposal, UNCE, and the USDA Forest Service. Participants received a free plant from a selection of good plant choices for high fire-hazard areas in exchange for their discarded juniper. Approximately 90 yards of discarded junipers were collected, and 53 good plants were distributed in exchange. The USDA Forest Service provided a prevention trailer and distributed educational materials. Moana 4 Nursery provided 53 shrubs, in-kind contribution $1325.00, and Rubbish Runners donated the use of three dumpsters, in-kind contribution $1350.00. In addition to organizing the event, UNCE provided volunteers from the Master Gardener Program. (See photographs - Attachment 3) The Spring Mountain National Recreation Area Spring Clean-up Day was held once again to remove litter and debris throughout the developed recreation areas in Kyle and Lee Canyons. Overall event attendance was 500 people, with 88 homes participating in the pine needle pick-up program. Over 14 tons of potential wildfire fuels (pine needles, etc.) were removed from the area. This event was a collaboration of 14 agencies and additional sponsors, in-kind contributions totaling $2,000.00. (See photographs - Attachment 4) Participating for the first time, Federal Fire Fallon hosted a Wildfire Awareness day at the Naval Air Station to educate their on-base residents on how to live more safely in their high-wildfire hazard environment. Over 75 adults and children participated in the event. The Douglas County/Sierra Front chapters of the Nevada Fire Safe Council held a joint event in their community, featuring a presentation on ember awareness by East Fork Fire and Paramedic District. Over 100 residents attended. Another Douglas County chapter provided a wildfire information booth during a local community rummage sale, and they were able to sign up 10 new homeowners to their chapter. (See photograph - Attachment 5) Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Safe Council chapters sponsored several events in their respective communities, both in California and Nevada. These included Community Education Nights in both Stateline and Incline Village, and a community BBQ in Montgomery Estates. Additionally, two events were held to educate children on this issue: A tree planting service day by the Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada to help in the Angora Fire recovery efforts, and an “Ember Aware” discovery event at the Great Basin Outdoor School. The Nevada Fire Safe Council and its statewide chapters were responsible for 25 of the events/activities. These are noted on the list of events and activities by county, included here as Attachment 1. Proclamations & Resolutions For the first time, the states of California, Nevada and Oregon worked together to secure a joint proclamation by their respective state’s governors. While respecting each state’s unique wildfire issues, the joint proclamation stressed the concerns all Western states face of unprecedented growth in the wildland-urban interface, increased threat to homes and communities, and the increased wildfire risk in these areas. (See Proclamation - Attachment 6) 5 Governor Gibbons issued a Proclamation on February 23, which was presented by Pete Anderson, State Forester, at the kick-off event on May 1. (See Proclamation - Attachment 7) The Nevada Association of Counties (NACO) issued a resolution in support of NWAW on April 17. Additionally, they contacted county representatives to encourage their support of the week by issuing a County proclamation or resolution. (See NACO Resolution - Attachment 8) County Proclamations were issued by 10 of Nevada’s 17 counties: Clark, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lyon, Nye, Pershing, Washoe, and White Pine. The City of Reno also issued a proclamation. Promotional Efforts – Statewide There were 600 11” by 17” posters distributed statewide, featuring the “Be Ember Aware!” message. The poster was designed and printed courtesy of the City of Reno’s reprographics department. In-kind contribution $250.00 (See poster - Attachment 9) Chief James Wright, Nevada State Fire Marshal, supported the week by posting a letter on the Division of Emergency Management