Healing with the Land Welcome, Vision, Agenda Vision Our wildlands are managed to: ● Limit catastrophic fire and flood ● Absorb water and release it slowly ● Maximize biodiversity ● Support the local economy ● Provide jobs ● Be beautiful ● Provide contact with nature Welcome, Vision, Agenda Agenda ● What happened ● Fire History and Ecology ● What we are doing now, and what we can do together going forward ● Q & A 2017 North Bay Fires Why? Why Are Fires Here? • Mediterranean Climate: Sonoma (Wet winters/Dry hot summers) Creek Landscape has history of fire Watershed • Diverse, steep topography – Varied Slopes, Aspects, Soils Napa – Diverse Vegetation Sonoma – East/West trending canyons Petaluma Vallejo Katabatic Winds occur in our region when air moving out from a high pressure system in the interior descends to lower areas near the coasts. The air heats up (and loses moisture) as it descends, and speeds up through canyons, reaching speeds over 70 MPH Cultural Fire vs. Fire Suppression Hanley Nuns Historic Large North Bay Fires Historic Large Fires + 2017 Fires 2017 North Bay Fires Why? Geography: Topography, Vegetation, Climate/Weather Culture: Fire suppression, Development patterns What Happened? 2017 North Bay LNU Complex Fires October 8th, 9:45 pm, ignition October 31st, final containment > 40 ignition points in first few hours, NE winds up to 80 mph Over 190,000 acres burned Approximately 9,000 structures burned, most in first 48 hours 80-90 percent of structures burned from embers, not flames October 8 to 31, 2017 North Bay Fires — LNU COMPLEX 2017 Nuns Fire • 6 Fires merged into “Nuns Fire” (Nuns, Adobe, Norbom, Pressley, Partrick, Oakmont) • Fire increased in size for 11 days: Oct 8th to 18th, Contained Oct 31st • 30,327 Acres in Sonoma Valley (56,556 acres total) • Sonoma Valley structures: – 1,026 destroyed structures – 495 residences, 520 outbuildings, 28 commercial October 8 to 31, 2017 North Bay Fires — LNU COMPLEX Sunday Oct 8 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 8, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Monday Oct 9 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 9, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Tuesday Oct 10 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 10, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Wednesday Oct 11 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 11, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Thursday Oct 12 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 12, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Friday Oct 13 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 13, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Saturday Oct 14 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 14, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Sunday Oct 15 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 15, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Monday Oct 16 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 16, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Tuesday Oct 17 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 17, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Wednesday Oct 18 Kenwood Glen Ellen Sonoma ESRI, NOAA, NASA, USGS, SF Chronicle Oct 18, 2017 NUNS / ADOBE / NORRBOM/ PRESSLEY / PARTRICK / OAKMONT FIRES (CENTRAL LNU COMPLEX) Sonoma Valley Fires 2017 Sonoma Valley Acres burned: 30,327 Percent of Valley: 28.5% (37 Fire data not included) 2017 Nuns Fire WERT Final Report ● Unburned/Very Low Soil Burn Severity 19,738 acres (35.0%) ● Low Soil Burn Severity 25,846 acres (46%) ● Moderate Soil Burn Severity 10,124 acres (18%) ● High Soil Burn Severity 848 acres (1%) Potential w 10 yr rain event for increased runoff: Pythian Creek (Hood Mtn canyon): 73% Adobe Canyon: 46% Yulupa Creek (at Son Cr.): 26% Stewart Creek (at Calabasas Cr.) 17% Asbury Creek: 21% Hooker Creek 21% Agua Caliente Creek: 19% Nathanson Creek: 9% Arroyo Seco: 15% Haraszthy Creek: 34% Sugarloaf Ridge State Park Fire Impacts, What to Expect 2017 Sonoma Valley Fires Sugarloaf Ridge State Park Estimated Fire Area: 3,328 Acres Estimated Percent of Park: 74% Fire History and Ecology Fire History California before 1800 Stephens, S.L., R.E. Martin, and N.E. Clinton. 2007. Prehistoric fire area and emissions from California’s forests, woodlands, shrublands and grasslands. Forest Ecology and Management 251:205-216. Unpublished research, Stephens, S.L., et al. Fire History Sonoma Valley California after 1908 before 1800 2017 1923 1942? 1955? 1964 1925 1966 2016 Sonoma County Hazard Mitigation Plan. Newspaper articles. Stephens, S.L., R.E. Martin, and N.E. Clinton. 2007. Prehistoric fire area and emissions from California’s forests, woodlands, shrublands and grasslands. Forest Ecology and Management 251:205- 216. Unpublished research, Stephens, S.L., et al. Fire History Stephens, S.L., R.E. Martin, and N.E. Clinton. 2007. Prehistoric fire area and emissions from California’s forests, woodlands, shrublands and grasslands. Forest Ecology and Management 251:205-216. Unpublished research, Stephens, S.L., et al. Suppressed Fire Planned Fire + Thinning ● Predictable timing of fires ● Controllable fires that don’t Pros ● No fire most years burn structures ● Big trees, well spaced ● Higher biodiversity ● Better infiltration of rain water ● Unexpected fires ● Potential for large ● Skies smoky more often uncontrollable fires ● Requires lots of planning Cons ● More small trees ● Requires permission of ● Lower biodiversity landowners ● Economic disruption ● Pollution from burned structures ? ● More Douglas fir, California ● More oaks, woodland, bay, chaparral savannah, grassland Grassland: fire fast and cool, removes Black ash = low or moderate severity burn. White ash = thatch so more high severity, appropriate for seeds can chaparral or knobcone pine. germinate. Perennial Isolated trees: canopy grasses resprout consumed. Oaks may take Forest: leaves insulate from roots. 3-6 years to resprout from against heat, so core of Hot steep slopes with leaves and/or roots. canopy is unburned, fire chaparral: hotter burn, stays on the ground. root resprouting, fire- following wildflowers SDC, November 24, 2017 Slime mold? Tree stencils Ghost trees Plants have fire adaptations and dependencies Thick bark insulates the living cambium Thick evergreen leaves with waxy coat resist burning Root crowns resprout Trees can drop leaves and grow new ones Some seeds require heat or ash chemistry to open or germinate. Can wait 100 years. “Fire followers” like golden ear drops. Many species need sunlight on the ground to sprout: oaks, wildflowers Exceptions: Douglas fir, California bay www.sonomaecologycenter.org/fire-recovery Monitoring Water Quality SEC with Water Board: metals, PAHs, alkalinity, nitrate, sulfate, ammonia, organic carbon, during storms SEC: continuous turbidity SFEI: untargeted analysis during storms Confluence of Sonoma and Calabazas Creeks, downtown Glen Ellen “Roads, roads, roads” Citizen Science --CalFire on erosion problems after fires Document nature’s recovery from photopoints 3 years Nerds for Nature, iNaturalist, CalAcademy, 9Mile Productions Assess culverts and ditches to avoid erosion, sediment pollution, and blow-outs Sonoma County Transportation & Public Works WATERSHED COLLABORATIVE >30 agencies and nonprofits working on natural resources in Sonoma County First Council meeting 2 Make recommendations to weeks post-fire Sonoma County Board of >20 interest groups Supervisors (planned burning and thinning, financial and policy Shared post-fire priorities incentives, education, from each sector preparedness) Common issues: housing, General plans coming up communications, jobs, fire- Relevant for earthquake, flood adapted community Contact Susan Gorin Emergency Watershed Protection Program Emergency Watershed Protection Program Sonoma Valley structure damage assessment. Within the Sonoma Creek watershed there are: · 1,026 destroyed structures Emergency · 492 residences · 506 outbuildings Watershed · 28 commercial Within 300ft of a waterway: Protection · 428 destroyed structures · 202 residences Program · 213 outbuildings · 13 commercial Within 200 ft of a waterway: · 275 destroyed structures · 119 residences · 147 outbuildings · 9 commercial Within 100 ft of a waterway: · 101 destroyed structures · 38 residences · 58 outbuildings · 5 commercial 141 County maintained culverts are within the burned area. 53 of those are within 500 ft of destroyed structures Emergency Watershed Protection Program Emergency Watershed Protection Program Emergency Watershed Protection Program NeWTS: Neighborhood Water Teams The Issues •Groundwater depletion •Drought symptoms (fire risk) •Flooding •Water quality (pollution) •Need for resilient communities A Solution •Based on behavior-change research and successful programs •Reach people where they are, directly engage •Actions promoted address water pollution & water conservation, while also building community Image: Kent Porter/PD NeWTS: Neighborhood Water Teams What does NeWTs look like