WILDFIRE MITIGATION IN FLORIDA Land use planning strategies and best development practices FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS • FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES April 2004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Florida Department of Community Affairs and the Florida Division of Forestry wish to express their appreciation to the following individuals: A publication of the Florida Department of Jeff Bielling, AICP, Florida Department of Community Affairs and Florida Department of Community Affairs, Division of Community Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Planning, Project Manager Forestry, based on recommendations contained Jim Harrell, Florida Division of Forestry, in published literature and recommended by Project Manager advisory and review teams. The publication was Dave Halstead, Florida Department of Community funded by grants from the U.S. Federal Emergency Affairs, Division of Emergency Management, Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant Project Advisor Program to the Florida Department of Community Richard Deadman, Florida Department of Affairs and from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service Community Affairs, Division of Community Southern Region to the Florida Division Planning, Project Advisor of Forestry. Susan Marynowski, Pandion Systems, Inc., Lead Author and Editor The manual can be found on the Florida Karen Hill, Pandion Systems, Inc., Department of Community Affairs’ website: Research Assistant http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/DCP/ hazardmitigation/pubs.htm FLORIDA DEPARTMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS Direction for development and critical review of For additional copies of the manual, Thaddeus L. Cohen, AIA, Secretary this manual were provided by: please contact: Bill Butler, Building Codes and Fire Division of Community Planning, Publications Valerie J. Hubbard, AICP, Director, Safety Consultant Florida Department of Community Affairs Division of Community Planning Leslie Chapman-Henderson, Federal Alliance for 2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard Safe Homes, Inc. Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100 Craig Fugate, Director, Martha C. Monroe, University of Florida, School of 850-487-4545 Division of Emergency Management Forest Resources and Conservation Kathleen Ruppert, University of Florida, Energy ©2004 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Extension Service Printed on recycled paper. AND CONSUMER SERVICES Link Walther, Growth Management Planning Graphic design by: PRO iNK, Gainesville, Florida Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner Consultant, Continental Shelf Associates Printing by: Drummond Press, Jacksonville, Florida Thomas T. Ankersen, Justin Payne, Michael C. Long, Director, John J. Welch III, University of Florida, References, sources, glossary, and graphic Division of Forestry Levin College of Law image credits appear at the end of the manual. Table of contents PREFACE: CHAPTER SUMMARIES The Wildland-Urban Interface Tools for Risk Assessment Chapter 1: Fire Ecology and Wildfire Mitigation Fire Problem . .21 and Fuel Management . .43 in Florida . .1 Understanding the Wildfire Landscape-Level Risk: The Florida Wildfire Risk Assessment System (FRAS) . .43 Chapter 2: Community Planning to Reduce Disaster Cycle . .22 Wildfire Risk . .1 Assessing the Level of Florida’s Basic Fuel Types . .45 Chapter 3: Development Guidelines and Wildfire Risk . .23 Fuels Management Alternatives . .45 Standards for Wildfire Mitigation . .1 Selecting a Fuels Management Method . .50 Solving the Problem is Chapter 4: Neighborhood Design to Reduce Everyone’s Responsibility . .24 Prescribed Fire . .51 Wildfire Risk . .2 What Needs to be Done . .24 Chapter 5: Building Construction for Reduced Overview of Wildland Fuels and Fuel CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT Wildfire Risk . .2 Management Strategies . .24 GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS Chapter 6: Landscaping for FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION Wildfire Mitigation . .2 Introduction . .54 Reader Guide to Wildfire Mitigation . .3 CHAPTER 2: COMMUNITY PLANNING The Statutory Basis for Wildfire TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK Mitigation in Florida . .54 Introduction . .28 Local Wildfire Mitigation Regulations . .56 CHAPTER 1: FIRE ECOLOGY AND WILDFIRE The Opportunity to Plan for MITIGATION IN FLORIDA Wildfire Mitigation . .28 Features of Wildfire Introduction . .6 Mitigation Regulations . .56 Local Planning Strategies for The Natural Role of Fire in Wildfire Mitigation . .29 Advantages and Disadvantages Florida’s Ecosystems . .6 Summary of Approaches to of Regulatory Approaches . .57 Fire’s Three Essential Components . .7 Wildfire Mitigation . .30 Examples of Wildfire Florida Fire Behavior . .8 Comprehensive and Community Mitigation Regulations . .58 Florida’s Fire-Adapted Ecosystems . .13 Planning Strategies . .30 Balancing Wildfire Mitigation with Tree Protection Ordinances . .58 What is Wildfire? . .16 Social and Economic Strategies . .38 Florida’s Wildfire Response System . .18 Effective and Long-Term Community Regulatory Strategies for Wildfire Mitigation . .41 Wildfire Mitigation . .62 The Wildland-Urban Interface . .19 Land Development Regulations and Defining the Wildland-Urban Interface . .19 Development Review . .62 Population Growth and Special Overlay Districts . .64 Development Pressures . .21 Table of contents Community Protection Zones/Fuel CHAPTER 5: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CHAPTER 6: LANDSCAPING FOR WILDFIRE Management Zones . .64 FOR REDUCED WILDFIRE RISK MITIGATION Greenbelts/Urban Growth Boundaries . .65 Introduction . .100 Introduction . .118 The Danger of Wildfire to Performance Criteria and Building Assessing the Level of Wildfire Risk . .118 the Built Environment . .100 Permit Requirements . .66 Rapid Wildfire Risk Assessment . .118 How Structures are Ignited Broader-Scale Wildfire Risk Assessments .120 Model Vegetation by Wildfire . .101 Management Ordinance . .67 Landscaping to Limit the Fuels Assessing the Level of Risk from Wildfire .103 for Wildfire . .120 Annotated Model Wildfire Creating a “Zoned” Landscape for Mitigation Ordinance . .69 Managing Fuels in the Landscape . .103 Wildfire Mitigation . .120 Building Practices to Protect Structures Installing the Firewise Landscape . .125 CHAPTER 4: NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN from Wildfire . .104 Plant Choices for the Florida FOR REDUCED WILDFIRE RISK Protect the Structure From Ignition: Firewise Landscape . .126 Introduction . .86 Building Codes for Wildfire Mitigation . .104 Maintaining a Firewise Landscape . .127 Wildfire Risk Factors for Guidelines for Firewise Florida Developments . .86 Building Construction . .105 Guidelines for Landscape Designers, Installers, and Developers . .129 Wildfire Mitigation for Support for Wildfire Protection and Tree Spacing Guidelines . .130 Florida Developments . .86 Suppression Efforts . .112 Designing Firewise Developments Balancing Wildfire Mitigation and Costs and Benefits of Firewise in Florida . .87 Environmental Protection . .131 Building Practices . .114 Wildfire Hazard Assessment for Costs and Benefits of Modifying Buildings Cost-benefit Analysis of Florida Neighborhoods . .88 for Wildfire Mitigation . .114 Firewise Landscaping . .132 Design Features to Reduce Costs and Benefits of New Wildfire Risk . .90 Fire-Resistant Construction . .114 GLOSSARY . .136 Integrating Wildfire Considerations in the Development Process . .94 SOURCES AND REFERENCES . .140 Providing for Long-Term Protection for Developments and Neighborhoods . .96 Model Language for Community Covenants . .97 1-6 Chapter summaries This guide is a manual for communities at risk of wildland fire. Wildfires have struck CHAPTER 1: FIRE ECOLOGY AND and Comprehensive Plan processes. This material every county in Florida in recent years. As WILDFIRE MITIGATION IN FLORIDA will be useful for local planners, elected officials, more people move to Florida and development Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the emergency professionals, business leaders, and natural role and behavior of fire in Florida’s citizens who want to address the wildfire hazard expands into areas of natural vegetation, we ecosystems, the threat of wildfire, and Florida’s in their communities. are likely to see even more wildfires in areas wildfire response system. This chapter then goes with human development. Although most on to introduce the concept of the wildland-urban CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT interface and to discuss the issues surrounding GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS homes are not in high-risk areas, all wildfire in the wildland-urban interface, including FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION Floridians can be impacted by the smoke, population growth pressures and assessing the Chapter 3 examines the regulatory framework level of risk from the wildfire hazard. The chapter for protecting communities from wildland fire. highway closures, and economic impacts of concludes with a summary of what can be done Guidelines are provided for creating and adopting wildfire. Elected officials, planners, archi- about the wildfire problem, including an overview local wildfire mitigation ordinances to reflect tects, landscapers, developers, and other of fuel management activities and wildfire Comprehensive Plan policies. This chapter explores mitigation strategies. This chapter will be of the potential relationships and conflicts between community stakeholders have a huge role interest to all readers. local tree ordinances and wildfire mitigation to play in protecting Florida homes and ordinances. A short model vegetation management communities from the effects of wildfire. CHAPTER 2: COMMUNITY PLANNING ordinance and a longer annotated model wildfire TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK mitigation ordinance are provided