Fuels Management
Overview
In 2004 the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the Nevada Fire Safe Council commissioned the “Nevada Community Wildfire Risk/Hazard Assessment Project” , which serves as the Community Wildfire Protectin Plan for the Fire District ( http://www.zephyrfiresafe.org/docs/Tahoe-Douglas%20RiskHazard%20Assessment.pdf ) The Assessment Project surveyed seven geographical areas of the Fire District and assigned a Fire Hazard Rating Score of low, moderate, high, or extreme. Of the seven areas, five scored high, one (Stateline) scored moderate, and one (Chimney Rock) scored extreme. The primary recommendation of the Assessment Project was the removal of excess flammable forest fuel and the creation of neighborhood fuel breaks.
Subsequent to the release of the Assessment Project, the Fuels Management Division was created to address the hazards identified as being the responsibility of the Fire District.
Fire Safe Chapters
Fire Safe Chapters are the cornerstone of the community fuels reduction effort. The chapters apply for grant money and then schedule work using various contractors, including the Fire District’s Fuels Reduction Crew. They also raise general fire safety awareness and coordinate the homeowner’s volunteer time, which is worth thousands of dollars in matching funds.
Glenbrook and Hidden Woods had existing chapters, formed in 2002. Chapters formed in 2004 as a result of the Assessment Project were Cave Rock, Chimney Rock, and Lake Village. 2005 saw the formation of Fire Safe Chapters in Skyland, Logan Creek, and Round Hill as well as work projects started in Cave Rock and Hidden Woods / Lakeridge. The Upper Kingsbury Chapter formed in 2006 and the momentum picked up with Chimney Rock, Round Hill, Skyland, Logan Creek, Lake Village, and Upper Kingsbury all starting ambitious fuels reduction efforts. 2007 brought chapters in Elks Point, Kingsbury South, and the Zephyr Cove area. The Marla Bay area organized in early 2008 for a total of thirteen Fire Safe Chapters in the Fire District, more than any other community around the lake.
The Fire District’s Commitment
The Fire District’s commitment centers around five major projects, defensible space inspections, “Compost Your Combustibles”, curbside chipping, a fuels reduction crew, and the implementation of fuel-breaks as prescribed in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
Defensible space inspections are a comprehensive inspection of the home and surrounding area, with the specific intention to improve the home’s survivability in the case of a wildfire. Fire resistive materials are recommended for siding, roofing, and decking. General housekeeping is assessed, with special attention directed toward the storage of firewood and other combustibles around the house, deck, and stairways. Finally, the area within 100 feet of the home is surveyed for proper spacing of ground fuels and trees. Homeowners can then receive a tree removal permit, if necessary. As of May 2008, the Fire District’s trained personnel issue tree removal permits under an MOU with TRPA.
“Compost Your Combustibles” was instituted as an alternative to open burning of slash and other yard wastes. Residents are encouraged to bring slash, pine needles, and other combustible wood products to the Heavenly Boulder Lodge parking lot where the accumulation is used by Heavenly for erosion control or transported to the Carson Valley to be turned into organic compost.
Chipping and fuels reduction began in 2006 with a three person crew and a brush chipper, taking requests via telephone and the district’s website. The public’s response was soon overwhelming. An additional three person fuels reduction crew was added in 2007, and in 2008, an additional chipper was bought with grant funding to keep up with the demand and allow fuels reduction work to be accomplished on larger parcels. Two vehicles transported the crews and equipment; one a flat bed truck donated by Sierra Pacific Power Company, the other a surplus ambulance cab and chassis on which a dump bed replaced the ambulance body.
In April of 2008 the Zephyr Fire Crew was born. This twenty-person fire and fuels reduction crew was established in order to provide wide-scale fuels reduction in and around our neighborhoods, in addition to serving as a first-response wildland firefighting resource. Their equipment includes four crew-cab pickups, two brush chippers, a woodchip transport truck, and a supervisor’s vehicle.
The Crew’s facility is a 3 acre parcel owned by Douglas County on Logging Road Lane. The County allows the property’s use through an Interlocal Agreement requiring the District to treat 6 acres of county owned land each year that the District occupies the property. A temporary office trailer and two storage containers occupy the parcel and parking space is available for employees, crew vehicles and chippers.
Funding
The Fire Safe Chapters receive no funds from the Fire District. They apply for and administer their own grant funding. Some of that grant funding, however, becomes income to the District when the fuels crew works for the various Fire Safe Chapters.
The chipping/fuels crew began life with Nevada Senate Bill 1 funding and continued through a combination of a California Clearinghouse grant, and various contract work for the United States Forest Service, Nevada Division of Forestry, and Nevada Fire Safe Council.
The Fire District funds the defensible space inspections, with the only costs being administrative time for the Fuels Management/Fire Prevention Battalion Chief and other personnel trained to perform the inspections.
“Compost Your Combustibles” began as a joint venture between the Fire District, South Tahoe Refuse, and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection. Costs are shared between the sponsoring organizations.
The majority of 2008 income came through the Nevada Fire Safe Council. The Council made over $500,000 in funding from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act available to the district for fuels reduction. In November of 2008, the voters of the Fire District passed a Fuels Reduction Tax Override in the amount of $0.05 per $100.00 of assessed valuation. This override will bring approximately $650,000.00 of additional revenue to the program to help fund fuels reduction and wildland fire prevention and awareness.
Training
The Fire District follows the guidelines for wildland firefighter training as set forth by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG).
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Fuels Crew
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NWCG Required
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NWCG
Desirable
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Entry Level
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FFT2 (I-100, S-130 S-190, L180)
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S-212
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Returning
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S-290, L-280, FFT-1 (S-131, S-133)
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Crew Supervisor
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CRWB (S-290, S-230, RXB3, FIRB,
L-280)
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I-200, L-280, S-270, S-260, S-234
RXB2
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All personnel will receive a 40 hour refresher training each year. This training will include the mandatory RT-130 topics as well as a full First Aid and CPR course. In addition, there will be one designated EMT-B for each squad, the fire district will support the continuing education and recertification process for these individuals.
Personnel
Currently the Fuels Division consists of a Fuels Battalion Chief, a Fire Inspector, a Crew Supervisor, and nineteen Crewmembers.
Completed Projects
In the 2008 fuels reduction season the crew completed two major projects contained in the District’s CWPP; the Stateline 1 and 3 projects.
Stateline 1, the Friday’s Station/Park Cattle Company Project, involved 20 acres of hand thinning by the Zephyr Crew, and 150 acres of mechanical mastication. Stateline 3 comprised work on property owned by the Douglas County School District, Sierra Pacific Power Company, and the Tahoe Douglas Sewer Improvement District. This project entailed 15 acres of hand thinning above the Kingsbury Middle School and mechanical mastication on the Sewer District and SPPCO properties. Burning of piles in the hand thinned areas finished both projects after the fire season.
Additionally, the Crew treated 70 acres of Forest Service and State of Nevada owned lots in the Round Hill and other neighborhoods. Other smaller projects included 30 acres in Glenbrook and several private parcels of 5 to 25 acres.
In 2009, 268 acres of fuel break projects were completed. 60 Acres were mechanically treated and 208 acres were hand thinned by the tax payer funded Zephyr Crew. These projects included:
Zephyr Cove Park/Schools: 49 acres cut to length thinning/mechanical mastication, 43 acres hand thinning. Total 92 acres
Slaughterhouse Canyon: 11 acres direct mastication, 30 hand thinning. Total 41 acres
Kingsbury 2: 56 acres hand thinning.
Kingsbury Corridor: 20 acres hand thinning
Zephyr Cove Urban lots (United States Forest Service) 16 acres hand thin.
Zephyr Creek (United States Forest Service) 33 acres hand thin.
A slideshow detailing the 2009 Fuels Management season can be seen by following this link:
http://www.zephyrfiresafe.org/docs/2009%20Fuels%20Management%20Program.pdf
Future Projects
The following projects are being planned for the 2010 season:
Cave Rock North: 31 acres
Kingsbury Corridor 142 acres
Upper Kingsbury 44 acres
Kingsbury 2: 41 acres
Round Hill North: 12 acres
McFaul Creek: 130 acres
Future Funding:
2010 projects will be funded by several sources which include: Fire Safe Community Fund (voter approved property tax), SNPLMA Round 9, Nevada Division of State Lands and a grant from the United States Forest Service.
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