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Handbook Helps At-Risk Communities Better Prepare for
Wildfires
A coalition of organizations concerned about protecting communities from
catastrophic wildfires has released a step-by-step handbook that guides local
communities in wildfire prone areas to better prepare and reduce the future
risks of catastrophic wildfires. The handbook, developed jointly by the
Society of American Foresters, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF),
the National Association of Counties (NACo), the Western Governors Association
(WGA), and the Communities Committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress,
and endorsed by the Southern Governors Association, offers a detailed
description of how to create a community wildfire protection plan as allowed
by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA).
During the last several fire seasons, wildfires, particularly in the West,
have burned more and more acreage on average and devastated the lives of
thousands of people, says Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, WGA's co-lead
governor for forest health. "When fires burn near homes, they often
result in unacceptable risk to the lives of residents and firefighters. This
risk won't be diminishing any time in the near future as the growing conflict
in the wildland and urban interface continues. We need to give those people
the help they need to protect their lives and their property."
The handbook, titled Preparing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan: A
Handbook for Wildland Urban Interface Communities, explains who should be
involved in developing a plan, how to convene interested parties, what
elements to consider in assessing community risks and priorities, and how to
develop a mitigation or protection plan to address those risks.
The HFRA provides communities with an opportunity to influence where
and how federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal lands
and how additional federal funds may be distributed for projects on nonfederal
lands, says Michael T. Goergen, SAF s executive vice-president and CEO.
Preparation and proactive treatments are necessities when striving to protect
communities from the risks of wildfires.
NASF encourages communities to prepare for wildfire through development of
these plans," said Burnell C. Fischer, president of the National
Association of State Foresters and state forester of Indiana. "While designed to help communities utilize new authorities under the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act, the guide is also intended to be useful for
all communities at risk from fire, regardless of their proximity to federal
lands."
The handbook reinforces the Forest Health and Safety Action
Plan for Arizona that we have established to coordinate efforts for fire
prevention, suppression and recovery between government agencies and all
levels of government, says Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, WGA's co-lead
governor for forest health. In 2002, wildfires destroyed over 400,000 acres of
Arizona s forests, other natural resources, and property. It damaged
watersheds, wildlife and wildlife habitat, and threatened Arizona citizens. We
want to work with all interested stakeholders to try to reduce the risk of
that happening again.
According to the formula outlined in the HFRA, and detailed in the handbook,
the planning process will be led by local governments working with area fire
departments and the state agency responsible for forest management. They will
collaborate with the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
if appropriate, as well as other interested partners. The handbook is designed
to complement the recently released interim field guidelines for the HFRA
published by the USDA Forest Service and the BLM.
Collaborative community involvement in addressing wildfire risk in the
interface will encourage private landowners to become active players in the
effort, reducing hazardous fuels on their properties and taking other needed
steps to complement the work occurring on public lands," notes Carol
Daly, president of the Communities Committee.
A community wildfire protection plan has two objectives. First, it
identifies and prioritizes the surrounding area, including both federal and
nonfederal lands, for hazardous fuels reduction treatments, as well as
recommends methods for achieving hazardous fuels reductions. Second, the plan
outlines measures for reducing fire damage to structures throughout at-risk
communities. Completion of a wildland fire protection plan will also earn
communities priority for funding of hazardous fuels reduction projects carried
out under the auspices of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003.
This handbook is a call to action, says Sherry Krulitz, chair of NACo s Public
Lands Steering Committee and commissioner of Shoshone County, Idaho. NACo
urges county officials across the country to use it to bring their communities
to a common table to hammer out strong wildfire protection plans.
For a copy of the handbook and other resources for
developing community wildfire protection plans, visit the SAF website http://www.safnet.org/policyandpress/cwpp.cfm.
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