Pinal County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Dudleyville ▪ Kearny ▪ Oracle ▪ Santa Cruz ▪ Maricopa Colony Top of the World ▪ Florence ▪ Coolidge ▪ Queen Valley Arizona City ▪ Avra Valley ▪ Thunderbird Farms ▪ Picacho Apache Junction ▪ Queen Creek ▪ Eloy ▪ Superior San Manuel ▪ Casa Grande ▪ Mammoth ▪ Maricopa Stanfi eld ▪ Oracle Junction/Saddlebrook ▪ Chuichu Pinal County Board of Supervisors Oracle Fire District City of Casa Grande Queen Valley Fire District City of Apache Junction San Manual Fire District Town of Florence Stanfi eld Fire District Town of Kearny Thunderbird Fire District City of Maricopa Casa Grande Fire Department Town of Superior Coolidge Fire Department Apache Junction Fire District Florence Fire Department Arizona City Fire District Kearny Fire Department Avra Valley Fire District Maricopa Fire Department Dudleyville Fire District Superior Fire Department Eloy Fire District Ak-Chin Indian Community Golder Ranch Fire District Tohono O’odham Nation Grande Buttes Fire District Gila River Indian Communities Mammoth Fire District FEBRUARY 2009 Pinal County Community Wildfire Protection Plan February 2009 Prepared by: Logan Simpson Design Inc. 33 North Stone Avenue Suite 1460 Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 884-5500 www.logansimpsondesign.com Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... v I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 A. Background .......................................................................................................................................... 2 B. WUI and Delineation Process .............................................................................................................. 5 C. Desired Future Condition and Wildfire Mitigation in the WUI ............................................................... 8 D. Goals for the Pinal County CWPP ..................................................................................................... 11 E. Planning Process ............................................................................................................................... 11 II. Pinal County CWPP Community Assessment and Analysis ............................................................ 13 A. Fire Regime and Condition Class ...................................................................................................... 19 B. Fuel Hazards ...................................................................................................................................... 22 C. Conditions of Ignition and Past Fire Occurrence ............................................................................... 39 D. Community Values at Risk ................................................................................................................. 41 E. Summary of Community Assessment and Cumulative Risk Analysis ................................................ 46 III. Community Mitigation Plan ................................................................................................................. 63 A. Fuel Reduction Priorities .................................................................................................................... 63 B. Prevention and Loss Mitigation .......................................................................................................... 77 1. Pinal County CWPP Administration and Implementation ............................................................ 78 2. Improved Protection Capability and Reduction in Structural Ignitability ....................................... 78 3. Promote Community Involvement and Improved Public Education, Information, and Outreach ........................................................................................................... 79 4. Encourage Use of Woody Material from WUI Fuel Mitigation Programs ..................................... 80 IV. Pinal County CWPP Priorities: Action Recommendations and Implementation ........................... 81 A. Administrative Oversight ................................................................................................................... 81 B. Priorities for Mitigation of Hazardous Wildland Fuels ........................................................................ 83 C. Identified Action Items for Protection Capability and Reduced Structural Ignitability ........................ 83 D. Priorities for Promoting Community Involvement through Education, Information, and Outreach .... 85 V. Monitoring Plan .................................................................................................................................... 88 A. Administrative Oversight, Monitoring, and Pinal County CWPP Reporting ....................................... 88 B. Effectiveness Monitoring ................................................................................................................... 89 VI. Declaration of Agreement and Concurrence..................................................................................... 91 VII. References ........................................................................................................................................... 95 VIII. Glossary of Fire Management Terms ................................................................................................ 98 Pinal County Community Wildfire Protection Plan February 2009 i Table of Contents APPENDIXES Appendix A. Vegetation Association Descriptions ............................................................................. 117 Appendix B. National Fire Danger Rating System Fuel Model Selection Key .................................. 123 Appendix C. Educational Resources ..................................................................................................... 127 Appendix D. Information Data Sheet and Contacts .............................................................................. 131 Appendix E. Invasive Species ................................................................................................................ 132 Appendix F. National Fire and Aviation Executive Board Appropriate Management Response ..... 147 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Land management within the WUI .............................................................................................. 13 Table 2.2 Fire regime information ............................................................................................................... 19 Table 2.3 Fuel model, fire-danger ratings, and intensity levels on vegetative associations in the WUI ...... 23 Table 2.4 Fuel hazard components ............................................................................................................. 36 Table 2.5 Ignition history and wildfire occurrence ....................................................................................... 41 Table 2.6 Community values ....................................................................................................................... 44 Table 2.7 Cumulative risk levels by percentage of the WUI area ............................................................... 61 Table 3.1 Fuel modification and treatment plans ........................................................................................ 64 Table 3.2 Identified treatment management units ....................................................................................... 67 Table 3.3 Acres of wildland fuels mitigation treatment conducted by ASFD fire and fuels crew during an 8- hour on-site workday units ............................................................................................................................ 76 Table 4.1 Action recommendations for wildland fuel modification............................................................... 84 Table 4.2 Action recommendations for structural ignitability and public outreach....................................... 85 Table 4.3 Future recommendations for wildland fire protection and reduced ignitability ............................. 86 Table 4.4. Future recommendations for enhanced public education, information, and outreach ................. 87 Table 5.1 Performance measures to assess Pinal County CWPP progress. .............................................. 90 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Analysis area ............................................................................................................................... 1 Figure 1.2 Pinal County CWPP process ....................................................................................................... 7 Figure 2.1 Pinal County CWPP WUI area ................................................................................................... 14 Figure 2.2 Pinal County CWPP vegetation associations ............................................................................ 27 Figure 2.3 Pinal County CWPP flammability ............................................................................................... 29 Figure 2.4 Pinal County CWPP wildland fuel hazards during typical fire season ........................................ 37 Figure 2.5 Pinal County CWPP wildland