CRC offers guidance on fire mitigation

SEELEY LAKE – On Friday, July 23, representatives of Clearwater Resource Council and the Department of Natural Resources led local homeowners on a tour through Double Arrow to describe what fuel mitigation methods they can take on their properties.

CRC President Jon Haufler said fuel mitigation efforts are intended to reduce ladder fuels. Ladder fuels create continuity in the fuels for fire to spread from the surface into the tree crowns, creating a much more intense fire.  By removing flammable materials outside a structure, homeowners can reduce the potential impact of wildfires on their properties.

CRC Executive Director Caryn Miske said they have a "pretty simple application." After they receive an application from a homeowner, CRC will analyze the property to make sure it qualifies for mitigation work.

As of now applicants are being placed into a queue. CRC has a total of four fuel mitigation grants, three of which are "fully committed," meaning that all of their funding will go to projects "on the ground." These grants also have very few restrictions on them meaning that applicants can work anywhere within the Clearwater Valley as well as burn the slash off once finished

The fourth grant specifically applies to the Double Arrow and Shining Shirt areas. It is a FEMA grant CRC received from Missoula County. Miske said although there is plenty of money in the grant, there are several restrictions, like keeping the work within a 300-foot radius of homes and structures. It also does not allow for burning so homeowners will have to decide what to do with the trees afterwards. Some may have commercial value and can be sold to mills such as Pyramid Mountain Lumber. Trees that are not big enough to sell can be sold as pulp, post-and-pole or chipped.

"The one really nice thing about the chipper is that you can return some of the nutrients in the form of chips back onto the ground and not just be taking nutrients off the forest," Miske said.

Grants can range in value from $50,000 - $300,000. For FEMA projects, CRC can reimburse around 75% of the total project cost.

Miske said CRC will be submitting another grant application in September. They are hoping to have additional money by October so they can do some additional work in the fall.

Miske said CRC does not hire loggers to do the work, but they do provide a list of them with their qualifications and methods. The homeowner then selects one. After the logger is paid, CRC reimburses the homeowner on the agreed amount. 

According to her, for most non-FEMA grants, reimbursement usually "tops out" around $900 per acre. She said the reimbursements are taxable income but because it will not likely result in several thousands of dollars, the taxes a homeowner will pay will be "pretty small." CRC staff member Joann Wallenburn added that while the grant money is reportable, it can be offset with the project's costs.

Haufler said one issue CRC has when it comes to getting property owners involved is that second homeowners will sometimes have an apathetic attitude when it comes to mitigating their property and would rather have insurance cover any damages.

"I don't know how you turn that around but that's the challenge," he said.

Miske recommends that homeowners in the program discuss with their contractors which portions they would like to preserve beforehand.

"If your trees are not marked, you definitely want to talk to the contractor beforehand and get a sense of what is coming out and what is staying on the property," Miske said. "You don't want a big tree coming out that you thought was your baby and now it's a stump."

Alternatively, the owner can work with CRC to mark their trees.

If owners wish to do some mitigation work before meeting with a contractor, Miske suggests focusing on the area closest to buildings by avoiding having wood piles nearby. Haufler advises against having cedar shake roofs on structures as they can spread fires quickly. He also recommends that homeowners clean all the leaf debris out of their gutters and make sure that there is not a big leaf pile or bag of charcoal sitting on their deck since these are receptive to embers that can start a structure on fire if left unchecked.

According to Miske, hand crews are less disruptive than mechanical crews during mitigation efforts. However, the impact of mechanized work can be minimized if done on frozen ground. If someone chooses to go with a mechanical crew, they should make sure that the contract requires the crew to clean their equipment beforehand so as not to spread unwanted seeds.

Miske said it is important to consider how mitigation efforts will affect wildlife on the property as well. She said low-level living plants should likely be left on the landscape because animals may rely on it for resources and it is unlikely to act as ladder fuel because it is so low to the ground.

Haufler said large dead trees are also important to wildlife for providing snags and coverage.

"Having some downed woody material is an important part of a forest's health too," he said. "The one thing we might want to do though, is if you have trees that are being killed by insects, if you take them out at the right time you can reduce the spread of those insects to other healthy trees."

Haufler said climate change acts as a "confounding influence" on the region in its susceptibility to wildfires. One of the most immediate effects is a consistent increase in temperatures.

"In the summertime, we tend to get greater moisture stress on the forests and that means the trees struggle even more, because it puts them more at risk," he said. "And so it makes them more susceptible to insect and disease outbreaks because they're more stressed."

According to Haufler, climate change has altered the entire nature of fire regimes. Historically, moisture in the valley would dry out at lower elevations by July. If lightning struck lower on a mountain and started a fire, then it would reach a certain elevation and begin hitting areas that were still moist.

With climate change, snow at higher elevations is melting off earlier and fires are able to rise and expand resulting in an extended fire season.

"This year every place out there is susceptible," he said. "[It's] unprecedented. All of the old fire models aren't working anymore because they have nothing to model them around. ... But through our program, what we're trying to do is make sure that we provide the best conditions we can both for the health of the forest as well as to protect homes."

He said the more trees one has in an area, the more competition there is for moisture, and to a lesser extent, nutrients. This can make trees more stressed and more vulnerable to disease and insect outbreaks.

Haufler said in the past, insects were controlled by really cold weather patterns in the winter. Previous winters had two weeks where the temperature was -20 degrees Fahrenheit. With comparatively warmer temperatures in recent years, bug populations, such as Douglas-fir beetles, have not been as constrained as they have been in the past. This is on top of denser forests which provide them with more "target trees" to go after.

Haufler acknowledges that it is impossible to prevent fires from starting. However, he hopes that through these mitigation efforts they can minimize risk to community members and their property.

"Fuel mitigation is to protect homes and property from fire," he said. "But for most of the valley, we can do both a restoration that improves the health of the area as well as protecting properties from fire."

To apply for a forest health and fire risk assessment visit http://crcmt.org/fuels#fuelsAssessment