New Millennium Wildfires: Paradigm Shifts for the 21 st Century: Assessing the Home Ignition Zone

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Leslie King
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1 New Millennium Wildfires: Paradigm Shifts for the 21 st Century: Assessing the Home Ignition Zone NM WUI Summit April 1, 2017 Albuquerque, NM Hank Blackwell Wildfire Solutions

2 What Is A Healthy Forest?

3 Myths Capricious Nature of Fire Helplessness Fire Department Protection Stringent Codes Wildfires don t happen here I have insurance

4 Wildland-Urban Definitions Interface denotes a place Defensible Space suggests firefighter presence vs. Wildland Urban Fire (WU) is A set of conditions where wildland fuels convert to urban fuels

5 Perspective While we specifically focus on the problem of residential fire losses during wildland fires, we should recognize that sustaining ecosystems, and the many values we derive from those ecosystems, is also a principal concern.

Suppression Too much fire and too few resources Reduced Fire Protection Lack of

6 Severe Fire Conditions Fuel, Weather, and Topography Wildland Fire Rapid fire spread and/or High intensity Urban Fire Multiple, simultaneous ignitions Overwhelmed Fire Suppression Too much fire and too few resources Reduced Fire Protection Lack of resources leads to reduced effectiveness DISASTER! Many homes totally destroyed Module 2 Understanding W/UI

7 Paradigm Shifts

8 What We Have Learned? Wildfires are inevitable in fire adaptive ecosystems. During large interface fires hundreds of structures an hour may be ignited. No fire suppression system in the world can stop losses from these large conflagrations.

Suppression Too much fire, Too few resources Reduced Fire Protection Lack of resources = Reduced

9 Severe Fire Conditions Fuel, Weather, and Topography Wildland Fire Rapid fire spread and/or High intensity Urban Fire Multiple, simultaneous ignitions Stop the transition from the Wildland fire to Overwhelmed Fire Suppression Too much fire, Too few resources Reduced Fire Protection Lack of resources = Reduced effectiveness DISASTER! an Urban fire and the likelihood of a Disaster is significantly reduced Many totally destroyed homes

10 Structural Losses Can Be Prevented!!

11 Home Ignition Zone Fire does not spread to homes like an avalanche or flash flood where a mass engulfs objects in its path Fire only spreads to locations along its path that meet the requirements for combustion including homes

12 These are tools for addressing fire control not for reducing home ignitability

13 What We Have Learned

14 Ignition-Resistant Homes & Communities Independent Survivability Community Fuel Breaks Limited or No Structural Protection Stay or Go Issues

15 New WU Strategies & Tactics Home ignitions can be prevented by reducing structure ignitability NOT by keeping wildfires from encroaching on WU areas! When structure ignitability is reduced, firefighting operations become safer and more efficient!

16 New Paradigms Ignition-Resistant Communities Partnerships Preventive Strategies Forest Health Understanding Fire Behavior & Forest Health Limitations of Firefighters Necessity of Coalitions

17 Ignition resistant communities can reduce wildfire exposure to firefighters and reduce the life safety threat to residents.

18 Summary Modern W/UI disasters have shown that firefighters cannot be at every threatened structure For structures not to burn, they must resist ignition on their own If we are to affect a reduction in structures destroyed by wildfire, we must focus on reducing ignitibility of Home Ignition Zones

19 Let s Analyze... How homes ignite and burn during a wildfire? Firebrands Radiation Flame Contact 27

20 Assessment Model Peak to Eaves Eaves to Foundation and Out First Five Feet Five Feet to Thirty Feet Thirty Feet to One Hundred Feet One Hundred Feet +

21 The Structure and the Site The Home Roof Walls» Glass» Vents Attachments The Site Outbuildings Slope Exposures 29

22 The Structure and Fire Exposure Roof Exterior walls Siding Windows Doors Vents and openings 30

23 31

24 32 Needle - Laden Rain Gutters

27 35 The Site

28 Site Features and Conditions Landscaping Location of structure on property Slope and terrain Surface Fuels Exposures 36

29 Landscaping & Vegetation Management 0 5 ft 30+ ft 5 to 30 ft Immediate Zone 5 to 30 feet 30 feet to Property Line 37

30 Structure to Structure Ignition Spacing between structures Construction materials Roof Walls Trim Exposed openings into home Doors Windows Vents 38

31 The Home Ignition Zone 0 to 5 ft. 5 to 30 ft. 30 to 100 ft. 100 ft. to Property Line The concept is based on science and fire experience 39

32 Recognize that fire is an ecosystem process Sustaining our ecosystems requires compatibility with fire. Compatible communities require ignition resistant homes we must take responsibility in our Home Ignition Zones! Module 4 The Site Visit

33 Thank You! Thank You! Hank Blackwell

Fire Adapted Communities Background

www.fireadapted.org Fire Adapted Communities Background 2005 Quadrennial Fire Review promoted Fire Adapted Human Communities as solution to escalating suppression costs, structure losses, fatalities 2009