Wildfire Assessment Services

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Wildfire Assessment Services Spring Creek Fire Thomas Fire / Montecito Mudslides Firm Background Ninyo & Moore has performed numerous evaluations on behalf of insurance Established in San Diego in 1986, Ninyo & companies, public agencies, and utilities for assessments after wildfires. Our Moore is one of the largest engineering firms methodologies are proven effective in providing consistent evaluations and specializing in Geotechnical Engineering, thorough final reports. Environmental Engineering and Materials Testing and Inspection Services. Engineering Geotechnical Clients News Record (ENR) recognizes the firm as Services • Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty one of the Top 500 Design Firms in the United • Capital Insurance Group (CIG) • Concrete degradation States. • Chubb • Damaged slabs/foundation • Cities of Carlsbad and Ventura Ninyo & Moore has fully equipped and certified • Erosion • PURE Insurance in-house testing laboratories that offer full- • Landslides • State Farm service field and laboratory services for • Pavement distress • Travelers Insurance geotechnical design, and soil and materials • Sedimentation testing projects. • Slope failures • Soil settlement Representative Professional Staff • Expert witness services Ninyo & Moore’s staff of 500 certified and Projects • Materials testing and inspection • Carr Fire registered professionals includes: • Third party reviews • Geotechnical engineers • Creek Fire • Civil engineers • La Tuna Fire • Engineering geologists Environmental • Montecito Mudslides • Hydrogeologists • Nuns Fire • Geophysicists Services • Poinsettia Fire • Field technicians • Smoke damage assessment • Special inspectors • Expert witness services • Rye Fire • Environmental engineers • Stormwater sampling/analysis • Sand Fire • Environmental scientists • Debris sampling • Spring Creek Fire • Industrial hygienists • Sulphur Fire • Asbestos consultants • Site assessments • Tea Fire • Safety professionals • Site remediation • Indoor environmental consultants • Industrial hygiene • Thomas Fire • Fire and smoke damage technician • Tubbs Fire • Microbial consultants • Lead consultants • Qualified SWPPP developers/practitioners • Hazardous waste and regulatory compliance specialists Locations Ninyo & Moore has offices located in the western United States, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and Texas. Contact Us 800.427.0401 or nminquiries @ ninyoandmoore.com Poinsettia Fire ninyoandmoore.com Experience Quality Commitment.

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Nigro Statusandtrends FEAM 0
Forest Ecology and Management 441 (2019) 20–31 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Forest Ecology and Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco Status and trends of fire activity in southern California yellow pine and T mixed conifer forests ⁎ Katherine Nigroa,b, , Nicole Molinaric a University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, United States b Colorado State University, Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, 200 W. Lake St, 1472 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, United States c USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, Los Padres National Forest, 6750 Navigator Way, Suite 150, Goleta, CA 93117, UnitedStates ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Frequent, low to moderate severity fire in mixed conifer and yellow pine forests of California played anintegral Southern California role in maintaining these ecosystems historically. Fire suppression starting in the early 20th century has led to Fire return interval altered fire regimes that affect forest composition, structure and risk of vegetation type conversion following Burn severity disturbance. Several studies have found evidence of increasingly large proportions and patches of high severity Fire size fire in fire-deprived conifer forests of northern California, but few studies have investigated the impactsoffire Natural range of variation suppression on the isolated forests of southern California. In this study, spatial data were used to compare the Yellow pine Mixed conifer current fire return interval (FRI) in yellow pine and mixed conifer forests of southern California tohistorical conditions. Remotely sensed burn severity and fire perimeter data were analyzed to assess changes inburn severity and fire size patterns over the last 32–100 years.
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CEE 189 Remote Sensing Jiaheng Hu CEE Department, Tufts University
Forestation Change Detection in Los Angeles Wildfires Background Processes Wildfire is one of the most disastrous event around the world, as it Sand Fire Creek Fire burn large area of forest and often times it will also burn buildings and threaten human’s life. Wildfire is usually triggered by dry cli- mate, volcano ash, hot wind and so on, but can be caused by human as well: a used cigarette thrown by a visitor who is unaware of envi- ronmental protection, or illegally put on a fire by someone. Wildfire has become frequent in California these years. There were 64 wildfires in record in 2017, the figure on the right shows the area destroyed by wildfire. Many wildfires occur in national forest parks Landsat 8 Metadata for Sand Fire on August 9, 2016 Landsat 8 Metadata for Sand Fire on February 4, 2018 (Source: USGS Earth Explorer) (Source: USGS Earth Explorer) just adjacent to some big cities such as LA and San Francisco. 1. Resize 2. Create Water Mask Remote sensing has been developed for several decades and proved to be a useful tool for large-scale environmental moni- 6. Color Slicing toring, conservation goals, spatial analysis and natural re- 3. Radiometric Cali- sources manage- 4. Apply BAI bration ment. Float(b2)-float(b1) B1= BAI of Sand fire Two Sand fire (Jul 22, 2016-Aug 3, 2016) and Creek fire (Dec 5, 2017- B2= BAI of Creek fire Jan 9, 2018) happened in Angeles National Forest. It is worthwhile to evaluate the change after these two fires by using some index.
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The Costs and Losses of Wildfires a Literature Review
NIST Special Publication 1215 The Costs and Losses of Wildfires A Literature Review Douglas Thomas David Butry Stanley Gilbert David Webb Juan Fung This publication is available free of charge from: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1215 NIST Special Publication 1215 The Costs and Losses of Wildfires A Literature Survey Douglas Thomas David Butry Stanley Gilbert David Webb Juan Fung Applied Economics Office Engineering Laboratory This publication is available free of charge from: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1215 November 2017 U.S. Department of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary National Institute of Standards and Technology Walter Copan, NIST Director and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose. Photo Credit: Lake City, Fla., May 15, 2007 -- The Florida Bugaboo Fire still rages out of control in some locations. FEMA Photo by Mark Wolfe - May 14, 2007 - Location: Lake City, FL: https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/images/51316 National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 1215 Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 1215, 72 pages (October 2017) CODEN: NSPUE2 This publication is available free of charge from: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1215 Abstract This report enumerates all possible costs of wildfire management and wildfire-related losses.
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PUBLIC SAFETY U Building a Safer Los Angeles 99
MOTION PUBLIC SAFETY U Building a Safer Los Angeles 99 From time to time it is appropriate for the Council to review and update ordinances adopted in the past. The urgency to do this is compounded when those ordinances relate to public safety, and even more so when a natural disaster affects our City such as the recent wildfires. In recent years, the City has made strides in enhancing the protection and character of our hillside communities, specifically our hillside single family home communities. Both in 2011 and again 2017 the City adopted stricter Baseline Hillside Ordinances to better ensure public safety in those neighborhoods. Though these ordinances addressed out of scale development and neighborhood character, the secondary effects ensure safer communities and better design that reduces risk during catastrophic events such as wildfires. The City must ensure that our growing multifamily housing stock is being constructed safely with skilled labor, and is resilient in the face of growing threats from wildfires and other natural disasters. In late 2018 the risk and devastation from wildfires was on full display throughout California. The risk associated with wildfires has grown exponentially in recent years. The frequency and intensity of these fires has made them a serious public safety risk. Their speed and intensity have created an urgent need to address their impacts. Much of this increased risk comes from the growing impacts of climate change that has changed the ecological makeup of our forests and climatic shifts that have driven the region into drought year after year, as well as rapid growth of our urban-wildland interface.
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Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa
cover final.qxd 2004/03/29 11:57 AM Page 1 Africa is a fire continent. Since the early evolution of humanity, fire has been harnessed as a land-use tool. Wildland Fire Management Many ecosystems of Sub-Sahara Africa that have been WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT shaped by fire over millennia provide a high carrying HANDBOOK WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT Handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa capacity for human populations, wildlife and domestic livestock. The rich biodiversity of tropical and sub- tropical savannas, grasslands and fynbos ecosystems is attributed to the regular influence of fire. However, as a Edited by Johann G Goldammer & Cornelis de Ronde result of land-use change, increasing population FOR SUB-SAHARA AFRICA pressure and increased vulnerability of agricultural land, FOR SUB-SAHARA AFRICA timber plantations and residential areas, many wildfires have a detrimental impact on ecosystem stability, economy and human security. The Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa aims to address both sides of wildland fire, the best possible use of prescribed fire for maintaining and stabilising eco- systems, and the state-of-the-art in wildfire fire prevention and control. The book has been prepared by a group of authors with different backgrounds in wildland fire science and fire management. This has resulted in a book that is unique in its style and contents – carefully positioned between a scientific textbook and a guidebook for fire manage- ment practices, this volume will prove invaluable to fire management practitioners and decision-makers alike. The handbook also makes a significant contribution towards facilitating capacity building in fire manage- ment across the entire Sub-Sahara Africa region.
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In Response to the La Tuna Fire, September 2017
In Response to the La Tuna Fire, September 2017 Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants 10459 Tuxford Street, Sun Valley (La Tuna Canyon), CA 91352 818 768-1802 | theodorepayne.org La Tuna Fire The La Tuna Fire was first reported on Friday, September 1. Aided by high heat and erratic wind, it raged for three more days. More than 7,000 acres of La Tuna Canyon and the Verdugo Mountains burned before the fire was contained. The Verdugos, with about 16,000 acres of steep terrain, are surrounded by urban development. The last three substantial fires in the Verdugo Mountains were the 1955 La Tuna Fire (4,306 acres), the 1964 Whiting Woods Fire (6,950 acres), and the 1980 Sunland Fire (6,400 acres). According to Los Angeles County Fire Department records since the 1955 fire, the Verdugo Mountains average 1.1 fires every 3.6 years, each fire averaging 1,371 acres. Regeneration, not Restoration The dominant plant communities in the Verdugos are Southern Coastal Scrub, Chaparral, Oak Woodland, and Mixed Riparian Woodland. The La Tuna Fire was concentrated in Southern Coastal Scrub and Chaparral sections that are notoriously fire-prone but resilient. Chaparral fires are characteristically high-intensity and burn dense vegetation entirely to the ground, leaving behind virtually no above-ground growth, yet many species in these communities are able to rebound from fire. Examples of recovery include crown sprouting (the ability to re- grow from underground roots or stems) and seeds that germinate only after a fire, ensuring rapid recovery. Though it is tempting to want to actively restore vegetation after a fire, intervention can be harmful to the native plants that stabilize slopes and to wildlife that rely on native plants for habitat.
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Recovering from Wildfire: a Guide for California's Forest Landowners
ANR Publication 8386 | July 2017 http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu Recovering from Wildfire: A Guide for California’s Forest Landowners WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? s a forest landowner, you will eventually face the inevitable: wildfire. KRISTEN SHIVE, Staff Research ANo matter how many acres have burned on your property, you are Assistant, Department of left wondering, “What should I do now?” After the fire is out, it is time to Environmental Science, Policy assess the impact of the fire and make some decisions. Wildfires typically and Management, University have a range of impacts, many of which can be damaging to trees and of California, Berkeley; SUSAN property. However, when wildfires burn at lower intensities, they often KOCHER, Forestry/Natural Resources Advisor, UC Cooperative have fewer negative impacts and may actually improve the long-term Extension, Central Sierra health of the forest. Understanding the range of impacts on your property can help you decide where and when to take action to protect your land from further impacts and to recoup losses. This publication discusses issues that forest landowners should consider following a wildfire in their forest, including how to assess fire impacts, protect valuable property from damage due to erosion, where to go for help and financial assistance, how to salvage dead trees or replant on your land, and how to claim a casualty loss on your tax return. UNDERSTANDinG THE FIRE’S EffECTS Fire is a dynamic process that typically burns in a mosaic pattern with a broad range of fire severities. Fire severity is the magnitude of ecological change from prefire conditions, usually described in terms of the amount of live biomass that was killed.
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This Is How a California Wildfire Can Change Your Homeowners Insurance Rate
This is how a California wildfire can change your homeowners insurance rate Press Telegram, San Gabriel Valley Tribune Some Southern California residents have seen their insurance rates skyrocket as a result of wildfires. The latest round of fires is fueling concerns that rates may eventually be boosted again. Scores of Southern California residents living in or near the path of the latest wildfires have suffered damage to their homes — or barely avoided it. Will they see their insurance rates go up as a result? Rates may eventually rise, but it won’t happen right away, according to Janet Ruiz, the California representative for the Insurance Information Institute. “Insurance companies don’t react immediately to something like a specific fire,” Ruiz said. “They will look at the last five to 10 years and the history of the area where the homes are.” Insurers consider a variety of factors when considering a rate hike, she said, such as whether a home has a sprinkler system and if the homeowner has cleared brush away from the house. “Some places have what they call ‘fire-wise communities’ where the whole community works together to make sure the land is cleared,” Ruiz said. “Insurance companies will look at things like that as well as the loss history of the area and what other precautions people may have taken to protect their homes.” The average deductible for fire insurance in California ranges from $1,000 to $2,000, although people with more expensive homes and those living in extreme high-risk areas pay around $5,000, according to Ruiz.
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Estimating the Impacts of Wildfire on Ecosystem Services in Southern California
Estimating the Impacts of Wildfire on Ecosystem Services in Southern California Emma Underwood University of California, Davis, USA and Southampton University, UK Hugh Safford US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region and University of California, Davis Mediterranean-type ecosystems • Cool moist winters, warm dry summers • Long dry season • High inter-annual variability in precipitation • Fire is a major ecological process Characterized by • High levels of biodiversity • High population densities • High levels of threats Area burned in California wildfires 2003-2018 9000 8000 7000 y = 139.82x - 277808 R² = 0.0918 6000 5000 4000 Square km 3000 2000 1000 0 Estimate of insured fire loss, the 10 worst wildfires in US history 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Insured Structures Rank Date Name, Location Deaths loss ($ d destroyed millions) 1 Nov. 8-25, 2018 Camp Fire, CA 18800 86 9000 2 Oct. 8-20, 2017 Tubbs Fire 5640 22 >4000 3 Nov. 8-12, 2018 Woolsey Fire, CA 1600 3 3000 4 Oct. 8-20, 2017 Atlas Fire, CA 780 6 >2000 5 Dec. 4-Jan. 12, 2017 Thomas Fire, CA 1070 21* 1800 6 Oct. 20-21, 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, CA 3290 25 1700 7 Jul. 23-Aug. 30, 2018 Carr Fire, CA 1605 8 1650 8 Oct. 21-24, 2007 Witch Fire, CA 1265 2 1300 9 Oct. 25-Nov. 4, 2003 Cedar Fire, CA 2820 15 1060 10 Oct. 25-Nov. 3, 2003 Old Fire, CA 975 6 975 Insurance Information institute, https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics- wildfires; Updated for 2017 & 2018 fires from preliminary online data Current fire situation in northern v.
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Fire Learning Network Field Guide November 2014 Copyright 2014 the Nature Conservancy
Fire Learning Network Field Guide November 2014 Copyright 2014 The Nature Conservancy The Fire Learning Network is part of the “Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together: Collaborative Engagement, Collective Action and Co- Ownership of Fire” cooperative agreement among The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service and agencies of the Department of the Interior (Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service). In addition to the network of landscape collaboratives, it includes prescribed fire training exchanges and targeted treatments under Scaling-up to Promote Ecosystem Resiliency. For more information, please visit www.conservationgateway.org/fln Network Contacts FLN Director Lynn Decker [email protected] (801) 320-0524 USDA Forest Service Tim Melchert [email protected] (208) 387-5512 Dept. of the Interior Richard Bahr [email protected] (208) 334-1550 The Fire Learning Network Team The Nature Conservancy Fire Team: Jeremy Bailey, Lynn Decker, Guy Duffner, Wendy Fulks, Blane Heumann, Mary Huffman, Heather Montanye, Liz Rank and Chris Topik. The FLN Field Guide is compiled and produced by Liz Rank ([email protected]). Thanks to the numerous landscape leaders and partners who provided text, photos and review for this document, and for the valuable work they do in the field. Photo Credits Front cover (top to bottom): Riley Bergseng, Coalition for the Upper South Platte, Robert B. Clontz/TNC; (center) Jeffrey Kane. This page: Jeffrey Kane. Back cover (left to
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Cal OES Daily Situation Report September 8, 2017
Cal OES Daily Situation Report September 8, 2017 The Salmon August Complex, west of Etna in Siskiyou County. Photo Credit: caseyjhoward / Instagram 1 Duty Officer National Terrorism Advisory System EDO Sarah Poss Jennifer Gordon (Day) CSWC Watch Officer Chad Stokes (Night) [email protected] STAC Duty Officer 916-275-4069 FDO Bill Bondshu LDO Troy Clegg IDO Terri Mejorado CDO Nancy Smith SDO Joanne Phillips PIO Brad Alexander TDO Ben Green IT Michael Crews EQTP Yvette LaDuke Tribal Liaison POC Lori Nezhura Access and Functional Vance Taylor Needs POC 2 SITUATION SUMMARY Cal OES Activation Status State Operations Center Inland Region EOC Coastal Region EOC Southern Region EOC Level 2 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Cal OES State Operations Center The Cal OES State Operations Center (SOC) is activated at Level II in support of statewide fires and National Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) coordination. • On 09/08/17, the SOC is activated from 0900 – 1700 hours. Hurricane Harvey Deployments, State of Texas Resources requested in support of impacts due to Hurricane Harvey: • Urban Search and Rescue IST (Incident Support Team) – 4 Personnel from California • Urban Search and Rescue IST Cache Support Personnel – 6 Personnel from California • HEPP (Hazardous Equipment Push Package) Support Personnel – 4 Personnel from California • HEPP-7 (Hazardous Equipment Push Package) Cache and Personnel – 4 Personnel from California • California US&R Blue Incident Support Team (IST) Support Personnel – 30 Personnel from California • Swiftwater Flood-Search and Rescue (SF-S&R)10 - Ventura with 1 Cal OES Assistant Chief and 14 personnel (Demobilizing, returning to CA) • SF-S&R 12 - Long Beach with 1 Cal OES Assistant Chief and 15 personnel (Demobilizing, returning to CA) At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Governor Edmund G.
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Oak Hill Area Fire Safe Council Firewise Risk Assessment
Oak Hill Area Fire Safe Council Firewise Risk Assessment Updated February 19, 2020 Page 1! of 26! 1) Introduction The Firewise Communities/USA program is designed to provide an effective management approach for preserving wildland living aesthetics. The program can be tailored for adoption by any community and/or neighborhood association that is committed to ensuring its citizens maximum protection from wildland fire. The following community assessment is intended as a resource to be used by the Oak Hill Area Fire Safe Council residents for creating a wildfire safety action plan, creating a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and in order to become officially designated as a Firewise Community by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The Oak Hill Area Fire Safe Council (OHAFSC) is an all volunteer organization that was formed in January 2019. The OHAFSC is a satellite group of the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC). Fire safe councils are community-led organizations that have been formed to prevent wildfires and reduce their potential impacts on the community. These councils work to educate homeowners and residents about wildfire preparedness and how to plan for and prevent wildfires. Fire safe councils conduct numerous outreach events and implement projects such as cooperative fuel-reduction projects in neighborhoods and collaborate with other agencies to complete landscape-level vegetation management projects. The Oak Hill Area Firewise Risk Assessment was conducted between March 2019 and February, 2020. Participants included Lester Lubetkin, Alice Cantelow, Linda and Loren Azevedo, Mark and Becky Leighton, Doug and Heidi Venable, Mary Humpreys, Alice Cantelow, Mark and Carolyn Pappas, Mary Daker, Ed Krueger, Ralph and Suzie Shoemaker, Richard and Becky Miller, and Barry Callenberger.
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