Community Wildfire Protection Plan Yamhill County Oregon August, 2009 Prepared by James H. Hulbert Table of Contents SIGNATURE PAGE ....................................................................................................................................... 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 5 I. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................... 6 II. PLANNING PROCESS .......................................................................................................................... 7 A. STEP ONE: CONVENE WILDFIRE PROTECTION EXPERTS ........................................................................ 8 B. STEP TWO: ESTABLISH PLANNING AREA BOUNDARY AND PLANNING GOALS ...................................... 8 C. STEP THREE: DEVELOP A COMMUNITY BASE MAP ............................................................................... 9 D. STEP FOUR: WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................ 9 E. STEP FIVE: ESTABLISH COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................................... 10 F. STEP SIX: COLLABORATION AND PUBLIC INPUT .................................................................................. 10 III. COUNTY PROFILE ........................................................................................................................... 11 A. GENERAL DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................... 11 B. WILDFIRE PROTECTION ENTITIES ........................................................................................................ 13 1. Oregon Department of Forestry...................................................................................................... 13 2. USDA Forest Service ...................................................................................................................... 15 3. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) .............................................................................................. 15 4. Yamhill County Emergency Management....................................................................................... 15 5. State Fire Marshal .......................................................................................................................... 16 6. Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde ....................................................................................... 17 7. Yamhill County Fire Defense Board............................................................................................... 17 8. Industrial Forest Landowners......................................................................................................... 18 C. FIRE DISTRICTS AND DEPARTMENTS.................................................................................................... 19 1. Amity Fire Protection District ........................................................................................................ 20 2. Carlton Fire Protection District ..................................................................................................... 20 3. Dayton Fire Protection District...................................................................................................... 21 4. Dundee Fire Department ................................................................................................................ 22 5. Gaston Rural Fire District.............................................................................................................. 23 8. Newberg Fire Department .............................................................................................................. 25 9. Sheridan Fire District..................................................................................................................... 26 10. West Valley Fire District............................................................................................................... 27 11. Yamhill Fire Protection District ................................................................................................... 28 IV. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 29 A. SENATE BILL - 360............................................................................................................................... 29 C. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACT (FEMA) ELIGIBILITY ...................................................... 30 D. HEALTHY FOREST RESTORATION ACT (HFRA)................................................................................... 31 E. NATIONAL FIRE PLAN (NFP)................................................................................................................ 32 F. OREGON STATEWIDE LAND USE PLANNING GOALS ............................................................................. 32 G. FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS.................................................................................................................... 32 V. WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENT....................................................................................................... 33 A. METHODOLOGY USED ......................................................................................................................... 33 B. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................ 34 C. ASSESSMENT OF ZONE 1 ...................................................................................................................... 35 Factor 1 - Ignition Risk....................................................................................................................... 36 Factor 2 - Hazard ............................................................................................................................... 37 Factor 3 - Values Protected................................................................................................................ 39 Overall Wildfire Risk Rating for Zone 1 ............................................................................................. 41 D. ASSESSMENT OF ZONE 2 ...................................................................................................................... 41 Factor 1 - Ignition Risk....................................................................................................................... 42 Factor 3 - Values Protected................................................................................................................ 46 2 Yamhill County CWPP Factor 4 - Protection Capabilities ...................................................................................................... 48 Overall Wildfire Risk Rating for Zone 2 ............................................................................................. 49 E. STRUCTURAL VULNERABILITY............................................................................................................. 50 1. Fire Siting Standards ...................................................................................................................... 50 VI. WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PROJECTS ................................................................................. 53 A. WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION PROJECTS BY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT........................................ 54 B. COUNTYWIDE WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PROJECTS ......................................................................... 63 C. PROJECT SUMMARY TABLES................................................................................................................ 70 VII. CONTINUING ACTIONS................................................................................................................. 72 VIII. APPENDICES................................................................................................................................... 73 APPENDIX A. WILDFIRE HAZARD SURVEY CRITERIA ............................................................................... 73 APPENDIX B. FIRE SUPPRESSION RATING SCHEDULE (FSRS) .................................................................. 75 APPENDIX C. WILDFIRE RISK RATING SYSTEM. ....................................................................................... 76 APPENDIX D. FIRE REGIME, CONDITION CLASS. ...................................................................................... 80 APPENDIX E. AGRICULTURE FACTS.......................................................................................................... 81 APPENDIX F. MAP WITH WUI AND WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENT ZONES ................................................ 91 APPENDIX G. MAPS WITH WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION PROJECTS...................................................... 92 3 Yamhill County CWPP Signature Page The contents of this document have been agreed upon and endorsed by the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, the District Foresters for the Forest Grove and West Oregon Districts of Oregon Department of Forestry, and the Yamhill County Fire Defense Board Chief. This plan is not legally binding as it does not create or place mandates or requirements on individual jurisdictions. It is intended to serve