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Restoration Project Assists Firefighters
Forest thinning as part of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4 FRI) is enabling firefighters to construct a line around the Slide Fire. The Coconino Forest is one of four forests in Arizona that are part of the 4 FRI, America’s largest restoration project. A “donut” of restoration treatments have been done around the City of Flagstaff, providing much needed assistance in containing the Slide Fire, which now covers over 21,000 acres and is 55% contained. The Western Regional Action Plan supports fuel treatments and forest restoration in relation to all three goals: Restore and Maintain Resilient Landscapes, Create Fire Adapted Communities, and Improve Fire Response. Read more here >
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New Recommendations to Protect Homes from Wildfire
The Chaparral Institute is advising local, state and federal fire agencies to expand their fire education efforts to emphasize both defensible space and retrofitting to reduce home flammability. They say that homeowners cannot rely on defensible space alone to protect homes from wildfire. To reduce fire risk, homes need more than just defensible space. Building homes with ignition-resistant materials, or retrofitting them to reduce flammability, and maintaining gutters and roofs free of leaf litter and debris are also necessary. Materials in the home susceptible to fire include wood shake roofing, siding, decks, and attic vents. The involvement of homeowners in reducing structural ignitability is a key element of Goal 2 - Creating Fire Adapted Communities. Read more here >
City of Colorado Springs, CO offers an Ignition Resistant Construction Guide for homeowners building or retrofitting a structure in the wildland urban interface.
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Wolf Pups Saved from Funny River Fire
The Funny River Fire on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula has grown to over 192,000 acres and is 46% contained. On May 27th, firefighters working the fire line found a wolf den and rescued five pups. The pups were not harmed by the fire, but were treated for porcupine quills, and given water and glucose. They have been transported to Anchorage for temporary holding until a permanent placement can be arranged. The Cohesive Strategy is about caring for landscapes and their inhabitants!
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Colorado Approves Firefighting Fleet
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Colorado joins California, Oregon and Alaska as a state with its own firefighting air fleet. The new Colorado Firefighter Air Corps will consist of four helicopters and four planes, including spotter planes equipped with infrared cameras that show fire behavior. The new fleet will cost the state $21 million. The planes are capable of going behind a band of lightning and finding newly started fires. "There's nobody in my knowledge in the United States using this type of technology to make a difference in early detection", said Paul Cooke, Director of Colorado Division of Fire. Early detection and a speedy response are the keys to reducing future wildfire losses in Colorado. The Western Regional Action Plan supports increased response capacity to improve response effectiveness under Goal 3, Improve Fire Response. Read more here >
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Visualizing Wildfire
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The Forest Service Fire Behavior Assessment Team (FBAT) studies fire behavior, using cameras encased in fireproof boxes to study actual fire events in multiple landscape types. This research is important to understand how treatments affect fire behavior in forests throughout the country. The FBAT team has measured before, during, and after patterns of fuels and fire behavior and effects in Montana, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and California, including areas with restoration treatments from prescribed fire, fire for resource benefit, thinning, biomass, commercial harvest, and untreated areas. Reports are available on the FBAT website >
The video, "Fire Behavior and Ecological Restoration", explains FBAT’s work and shows time lapse imagery of wildfires. Some of the wildfire behavior was surprising even to the scientists who study it! Visualizing fire and its effects in treated and untreated areas is important for fire professionals and for homeowners. Knowing the kinds of treatments that are most effective are essential to both restoring landscapes and creating fire adapted communities. See the video >
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New Videos Explain the Cohesive Strategy
Many people are unfamiliar with the Cohesive Strategy and might be helped by a short introductory video that explains the Cohesive Strategy, how it will be implemented, why it is important to wildfire management, and what some of the partner agencies are doing. In the past week, three new videos have been produced by the Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, and The Nature Conservancy that do just that! Watch the videos here >
The Importance of the Cohesive Strategy with Jim Douglas, Director, Office of Wildland Fire, DOI
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Does your agency or community have a project or event you'd like to see featured in the WRSC Newsletter? Tell us about it! Just contact Cheryl Renner.
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