Wildland Urban Interface Community Wildfire Protection Plan Prepared for: Elk Creek Fire Protection District Conifer, Colorado Submitted By: Anchor Point Boulder, Colorado September 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS PURPOPSE....................................................................................................................................................... 1 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 1 OTHER DESIRED OUTCOMES ......................................................................................................................... 1 UNDERSTANDING THIS DOCUMENT ....................................................................................................... 3 THE NATIONAL FIRE PLAN ............................................................................................................................ 3 STUDY AREA PROFILE ................................................................................................................................ 5 VALUES......................................................................................................................................................... 10 PRIORITIZED VALUES TO BE PROTECTED ................................................................................................... 10 CURRENT RISK SITUATION...................................................................................................................... 13 FIRE REGIME AND CONDITION CLASS.................................................................................................. 18 CONDITION CLASS DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................ 19 FIRE BEHAVIOR POTENTIAL ........................................................................................................................ 20 SOLUTIONS AND MITIGATION................................................................................................................ 27 ESTABLISHING AND PRIORITIZING FIRE MANAGEMENT UNITS (FMUS) .................................................... 27 ACCESS, EVACUATION AND SHELTERING-IN-PLACE FMU......................................................................... 27 Addressing ............................................................................................................................................... 27 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 30 Evacuation Routes ................................................................................................................................... 30 Access Route Fuels Modification Recommendations.......................................................................... 35 Other Access Route Recommendations ............................................................................................... 36 Shelter-In-Place ....................................................................................................................................... 37 PUBLIC EDUCATION EFFORTS FMU............................................................................................................ 39 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 39 FIRE DEPARTMENT INVOLVEMENT ............................................................................................................. 40 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 40 HOME MITIGATION FMU ............................................................................................................................ 42 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 42 ii Elk Creek Fire Protection District September 2005 Community Wildfire Protection Plan LANDSCAPE SCALE FUELS MODIFICATIONS FMU...................................................................................... 45 Current Projects ....................................................................................................................................... 46 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 47 WATER SUPPLY FMU.................................................................................................................................. 48 Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 49 GLOSSARY.................................................................................................................................................... 50 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................................... 52 WEBSITE RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 54 iii Elk Creek Fire Protection District September 2005 Community Wildfire Protection Plan LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. TYPICAL AREA................................................................................................................................. 5 FIGURE 2. STUDY AREA COMMUNITIES ........................................................................................................... 6 FIGURE 3. PERCENT SLOPE............................................................................................................................... 8 FIGURE 4. ELEVATION ...................................................................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 5. CULTURAL SITES ........................................................................................................................... 11 FIGURE 7. PIKES PEAK, SOUTH PARK AND SOUTH PLATTE RANGER DISTRICT FIRE STATISTICS ................. 15 FIGURE 8. RECENT LARGE FIRES.................................................................................................................... 16 FIGURE 9. CONDITION CLASS MAP ................................................................................................................ 18 FIGURE 10. FLAME LENGTH PREDICTIONS (AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS)........................................... 21 FIGURE 11. SPREAD RATE PREDICTIONS (AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS).............................................. 22 FIGURE 12. CROWN FIRE POTENTIAL (AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS)................................................... 23 FIGURE 13. FLAME LENGTH PREDICTIONS (EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS)........................................... 24 FIGURE 14. SPREAD RATE PREDICTIONS (EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS).............................................. 25 FIGURE 15. CROWN FIRE POTENTIAL (EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS)................................................... 26 FIGURE 16. MULTIPLE, CONFUSING ADDRESS MARKERS.............................................................................. 28 FIGURE 17. BROKEN ADDRESS MARKERS...................................................................................................... 28 FIGURE 18. CONFUSING, SIMILAR ROAD NAMES ........................................................................................... 29 FIGURE 19. UNSAFE BRIDGES......................................................................................................................... 29 FIGURE 20. EAST SIDE EVACUATION ROUTES ............................................................................................... 33 FIGURE 21. WEST SIDE EVACUATION ROUTES .............................................................................................. 34 FIGURE 22. WATER SUPPLY LOCATIONS IN THE STUDY AREA ...................................................................... 48 iv Elk Creek Fire Protection District September 2005 Community Wildfire Protection Plan LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. HAZARD RANKING OF COMMUNITIES IN THE STUDY AREA............................................................. 7 TABLE 2. CULTURAL SITES ............................................................................................................................ 12 TABLE 3. CONDITION CLASS DESCRIPTIONS.................................................................................................. 19 TABLE 4. RECOMMENDED TREATMENT DISTANCES FOR MID-SLOPE ROADS ............................................... 35 TABLE 5. HAZARD RATINGS BY COMMUNITY................................................................................................ 44 v Elk Creek Fire Protection District September 2005 Community Wildfire Protection Plan PURPOSE The purpose of the fire behavior analysis and community wildfire hazard rating is to provide a comprehensive, scientifically-based assessment of the wildfire hazards and risks within the Elk Creek Fire Protection District. The assessment estimates the risks, likelihood of the occurrence of a significant wildfire event and hazards, potential for deleterious and otherwise undesirable effects resulting from a moderately advancing wildfire, associated with wildland