Improving Defensible Space in Trinity County
Mike McMillan, Weaverville Fire District, 3dec2010

Background

Oregon Fire, 2001

• Wildland fire in the WUI is an increasingly critical issue, locally & state-wide.
• Recent change to state law increases required Defensible Space, from 30 feet, to 100 feet (and enforcement has become vigorous).
• But how will people will pay for it?
• Trinity County's timber-based economy collapsed decades ago; hence its population is among the very oldest, poor-est, most disabled, and most unemployed, in the state.
• Everyone here is intimately wildland-proximate.

WFD Hazard Reduction Program - Timeline

• Prior (and other) efforts:
  • 'Big Red Fire Truck': volunteers visit homes, suggest mitigation.
  • TCRCD:
  • Community fuel breaks
  • Chipping
  • Recent 'Senior Citizen Fuel Reduction Assistance Grant'
• Early 2009: Scott Alvord, Interim WFD Chief, conceives the idea of a Hazard Reduction Program.
  • Objectives:
    Cedar Fire
    • reduce wildland fire hazard in the WUI.
    • secure a safer working environment for firefighters.
    • provide employment, training, and experience for firefighters.
  • Concept:
    • completely voluntary.
    • priority to elderly, handicapped and low-income homes.
    • Fire Department is the public 'face' of the program.
    • after work is done, homeowners are sent a 'bill', but what they pay (if anything) is entirely up to them. "The critical thing is reducing fire hazard. Improving Defensible Space should not be limited by a person’s ability to pay."
    • anything collected is recycled back into the program, so that more can benefit.
    • work not only in the Weaverville Fire District, but within the area where WFD commonly rolls mutual-aid: Lewiston, Douglas City, Junction City, Rush Creek.
• Summer 2009[photos...]
  • young people, hired under SMART program and led by WFD Captain Todd Corbett, improve Defensible Space.
  • 11 individuals receive valuable training and work experience.
  • 73 requests for help are received.
  • actual work at 56 sites.
  • typical beneficiary: elderly, fixed income, not physically or financially able to reduce a significant fire danger on property they own and live on.
  • funding: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
  • comments overwhelmingly favorable: “We are thrilled to have this work done and a big concern lifted.” “I am 79 years old and cannot do very much. Keep the program going.” “I believe the property and neighborhood is a safer place.”
• Winter 2009-10[photos...] [more...]
  • work is done by Firestorm, a private company whose local wildland-firefighter-employees would otherwise be unemployed.
  • a WFD rep is the public face of the program. He does the PR, meets with folks on their property, suggests what should be done, then passes the info on to Firestorm.
  • 88 sites assessed, work done at 78 of them.
  • funding: Title III, Federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.
  • comments unanimously favorable!
  • great PR for WFD.
• Summer 2010[photos...]
  • Firestorm's back to wildland firefighting.
  • 2 young WFD volunteers do mostly weedeating.
• Winter 2010-11
  • again, work is done by Firestorm.
  • again, funding is Title III, Federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, ~$204,000 out of a total of ~$350,000 available.
  • working in winter beats the brutal summer heat, burning is safer, and workers are happy to be working; down-side, sometimes rain/snow/cold.

Future?

• This kind of thing should be done county-wide.
• Issues:
  • Management [more on this topic...]
  • Continued funding?
• I'm happy to work with fire departments county-wide to help you with your programs.