This blog has been developed for anyone willing to discuss the subject of wildfires burning into the Bitterroot Valley Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). These fires threaten communities, cost millions of dollars in suppression costs and structural loses and put firefighters and property owners in danger. Future success in managing these fires will depend on a coordinated effort by the homeowners, RFDs, the Forest Service and other emergency responders. Please contact your local forester or Forest Service office for more information.
We will no longer be asking a question of the week. Feel free to address or respond to any of the questions with your comments, concerns and issues on the subject of WUI wildfires at any local Ranger District office.
Question 12 – July 7, 2010
Are you ready for fire season? Do you know what a Firewise home looks like?
Check it out …. http://firewise.org/fw_youcanuse/vrhome/index.htm
Question 11 – June 28th, 2010
Do you know have evacuation routes identified from your home?
Question 10 – June 21st, 2010
Do you have a defensible space around your home?
Question 9 – June 11th, 2010
What could the Forest Service do better in regards to wildland fire management?
Question 8 – June 4th, 2010
What does the Wildland Urban Interface(WUI) mean to you?
Question 7 – May 28th, 2010
What are the steps you have taken around your property to create a defensible space?
Question 6 – May 21st, 2010
What is your preferred medium for obtaining fire information?
Question 5 – May 13th, 2010
What is your greatest concern about wildfires?
Question 4 – May 6th, 2010
What are your questions or concerns about the upcoming fire season?
Question 3 – April 30th, 2010
What are your expectations of homeowners living within the interface, before, during and after a WUI fire?
Question 2 – April 23rd, 2010
What are your expectations from your local Volunteer Fire Department before, during, and after the next WUI fire?
Question 1 – April 16, 2010
What are your expectations from the Forest Service before, during, and after the next WUI fire?
To find out more information about this project click on one of the eight tabs: “What’s New?”, “Stevensville Pilot”, “Wildfire Management Response”, “Fire Technology”, “Fuels Reduction”, and “Homeowner Responsibility”, where you can also comment about the topics at the bottom of each page.
If you are having trouble accessing something on the blog or leaving a comment, please email Katherine at katherine.mutrie@umontana.edu. Lastly, we encourage all commentary to be proactive, positive, and civil. We hope this blog betters your community, your experiences with wildfire, and the future of the Bitterroot Valley. Welcome!
We would be available upon request to attend home-owners association meetings and neighborhood meetings, or meet one on one, by phone or by an office visit, where we could discuss this project, answer any questions, and listen to your comments, concerns, and ideas. Key contacts include:
Project Leader: Tanya Neidhardt – 406-821-2317
Stevensville District Ranger: Dan Ritter – 406-777-7410
District Fire Mgmt. Officer: Bruce Windhorst – 406-777-7436
Forest Fire Management Officer: Rick Floch – 406-375-2610
I think there would be a lot more participation if we could comment without our actual names being used.
By: albert on March 26, 2010
at 4:20 pm
I agree, where is the privacy? How can we be expected to be candid and free from reprisal if we have to post our name? It would be preferred if we could create a unique username known only to us. Something to think about if you seriously want participation from the public.
By: bob on April 1, 2010
at 3:03 pm
all right, after my first post i can see that the name is irrelevant and the email must be for administrative purposes. makes it more secure to speak freely.
question; how is the plan coming along and what can we as homeowners expect from this venture? will this project be used to increase our insurance, taxes, etc?
By: bob on April 1, 2010
at 3:09 pm
The guide is progressing as several efforts are being made to collect data in the field. The data we are collecting includes access roads, water sources, staging areas, and potential helispots and dipsites. This information will help all fire responders to be more efficient and effective in responding to a wildland fire event.
While this information is public, our intention is to only use this data for wildland fire response purposes.
By: Stevensville Fire Management Officer on April 2, 2010
at 5:42 pm
What are the responsibilities of the other “cooperating agencies” ie VFD’s, RC&D, Montana DNR etc? How will this affect our protection districts? Does this increase the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) response form the FS or will it stay the same? Does it change the WUI boundary in the Valley?
By: john doe on April 6, 2010
at 8:53 pm
so is the (WUI) the same as the (CWPP) or is it one and the same
By: Max on April 6, 2010
at 9:29 pm
The definition of WUI varies depending on the agency. Each county uses a different definition, as do state and Federal agencies. You cannot compare the areas with each other: apples and oranges. The Ravalli County CWPP suggests using a specific definition that may or may not have anything to do with the likelihood of a house igniting. The only way to make that determination is to evaluate the specific house at a specific time.
By: Alan on April 7, 2010
at 3:27 pm
This sounds like a great project. Will this be done on the whole forest some day. How is this guide going to help.
By: Crockett on April 1, 2010
at 6:03 pm
For now this is a pilot project, if proven successful it may be extended across the Forest.
This guide will help all local wildland fire agencies be more effective in responding to future fires, by providing more accurate landscape data and ensuring better communications among responders.
By: Stevensville District Ranger on April 2, 2010
at 5:56 pm
I have reviewed the home assessment worksheet. You appear to be using the old standards for home wildfire vulnerability. The worksheet does not use the excellent ignition modeling elements from the Missoula Fire Lab. Can you update to reflect what we have learned in the last ten years?
By: Alan on April 4, 2010
at 5:29 pm
Alan,
There is a wide variety of assessments available for use. We choose to use this assessment for this project because it not only addressed the structures but also the fuels aspect surrounding a home. Jack Cohen of the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory has done a lot of research on structure ignitions. Some of the results of his work can be viewed at http://www.firewise.org/resources/wui_hir.htm.
By: Tanya on April 9, 2010
at 10:37 pm
John Doe – The guide will describe in greater detail the coordinated response of all cooperating agencies. Briefly, the RFDs provide structure suppression/wildland fire suppression as volunteers in short term fire situations. The DNRC does not have any direct wildland fire suppression responsibility in this area (the FS protects their lands through agreement). The RC&D has no suppression responsibilities, but works with private landowners to provide forestry expertise and assistance through federal and state grant funding opportunities.
By: Rick Floch - Fire Mgmt Officer on April 9, 2010
at 4:20 pm
John Doe – Completing and implementing the Guide should help the fire protection districts as well as the Forest Service and the public in preparing for and then responding more effectively to the next wildfire in this area. It will prioritize areas in need of future fuels reduction, and during a wildfire, will facilitate better coordination and cooperation between the fire districts, Forest Service and the public
By: Rick Floch - Fire Mgmt Officer on April 9, 2010
at 8:05 pm
Rick, thank you for your response to my questions. I, as well as other residents, am looking forward to benefiting from the completion and implementation of your guide. A planned response is always better then an unplanned reaction.
By: John Doe on April 13, 2010
at 4:08 pm
Focusing specifically on USFS response during the next WUI incident, many variables have to be considered by all elements of the equation:
1. What is the projected response time to the incident and with what resources?
2. At what level is the USFS resource depletion at the time of this latest incident (staffing/engines) and their availability for a timely response or be able to disengage from an in-progress incident and respond to this new incident?
3. Depending on weather and fuel conditions, size and rate of spread of the fire, available water, possible air support and threatened high value structures, has a fire-loss triage been established to save what is savable?
4. Has concise communications been established between the Initial Attack responders and those in the USFS chain of command who will be allocating additional resources to the incident and establishing an ICS protocol?
5. Depending on geographical location of the incident and severity, how far into the evolution will command request local rural fire support?
6. Are those in the initial phases of command & control truly capable of handling a rapidly evolving
incident that is eroding into a multi-divisional quagmire?
These are just some of the open-ended questions that can be debated endlessly by the fire service and most WUI property owners who are in a state of denial relative to their fire-exposure liability. Those property owners who have invested the time, effort and money to mitigate and eliminate the potential for a catastrophic fire loss will probably survive unscathed. Those who ignored the obvious, such as drought conditions, beetle killed dead and standing conifers, combustible roof, fuel accumulations around the residence, will have the indignation of standing by while their home burns to the ground. And then they will blame the appropriate fire agency for malfeasance and cowardace.
As this whole conundrum reaches a burning pinacle, let us not overlook the reality that the USFS is only responsible for those areas within USDA public lands. So if you have a burning issue in your WUI neighborhood and a USFS fire crew shows up, consider it a bonus. In the mean time, when this fire season gets really ugly and there are multiple/expanding incidents in your part of the county, don’t expect an engine crew in your driveway when you dial 9-1-1. Suppression resources may have been exhausted and dispatch will put on a waiting list.
By: Ray on April 17, 2010
at 4:17 am
Ray-thanks for the comment. You are pretty much right – we have protection responsibility for all Bitterroot National Forest lands – but we also have (through a cooperative agreement with the State) protection responsibility for all State lands in the valley and some private lands. We will also respond to fires on private lands outside our protection area that we think might threaten our protection area and likewise, the volunteer fire districts will do the same thing on fires in our protection area that may threaten their area – that’s just being good neighbors!. We only have 6 engines staffed each summer and none of our firefighters are trained to do structure suppression – we mainly focus on keeping the fire from getting to the house or property. The RFD’s are trained, equipped, and very skilled in structure suppression – but they also have only a finite number of engines available at any one time. We both will do alla that we can but the reality is that folks need to always plan as if noone will be there because, depending on the size of the fire or the number of fires and homes threatened, there just might not be anyone available.
By: Rick Floch - Fire Mgmt Officer on April 21, 2010
at 9:46 pm