By Steve Wilent For The Mountain Times
In last month’s column I wrote about the urban wildfires in and around Los Angeles in January, that in many areas houses, not forests, were the primary fuel for the flames, and that similar destructive fires could burn here on The Mountain. In the LA fires, more than 18,000 homes and other buildings were destroyed or damaged, and 29 people died.
I also noted that I would write about the State of Oregon’s finalized Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer map (tinyurl.com/3ye4penv), which was finalized in January, as well as the new defensible space standards and the forthcoming home-hardening code (regulations designed to make homes more resilient to wildfire). Here are a few key points about the map and the most recent draft of the standards and code:
The vast majority of residential and commercial properties in the Highway 26 corridor, from Sandy to Government Camp, are rated as Moderate hazard; some are designated as High hazard. Downtown Sandy is deemed Low hazard.
Most of these properties also are within a Wildland-Urban Interface zone, an area where structures and other human development meet or are intermingled with wildland or vegetative fuels.
Properties that are both high hazard and in the wildland-urban interface will be required to meet the state’s new defensible space standards and, for new construction only, the home-hardening code. Numerous property owners in our area have received letters from the state about this.
In short, the owners of most residential and commercial properties in the Highway 26 corridor are not required to take any action. Those who own properties designated as High hazard will have to take action to meet the new defensible space standards and code; if they don’t, property owners may face penalties. The Oregon State Fire Marshal is charged with enforcing the defensible-space regulations.
The home-hardening code applies to newly constructed homes, their accessory structures, and significant alterations or additions. The code includes standards for roofs, gutters, the use of noncombustible, ignition resistant, or other fire-resistant materials on exterior walls, and other specifications; many existing building code requirements, such as roofing materials, already have home-hardening code requirements.
The state’s definition of defensible space is “a natural or human-made area in which material capable of supporting the spread of fire has been treated, cleared, or modified to slow the rate and intensity of advancing wildfire and allow space for fire-suppression operations to occur,” I’ve written several times about defensible space. For more information, see FireWise.org and hoodlandfire.gov.
If you have a home at Moderate hazard, you may be breathing a sigh of relief that you aren’t required to create a defensible space or follow the home-hardening code. In my view, such complacency is dangerous. Your house and your entire neighborhood is still, in my opinion, at a high risk of being destroyed by a wildfire.
Imagine a low-intensity wildfire in your neighborhood, a neighborhood where many, perhaps most, homeowners have created defensible spaces. The fire’s foot-tall flames are burning through low-lying fuels — fir needles, a few dry alder or maple leaves, grass, a few small branches, a shrub or two. Imagine two similar houses, each with wood siding. House A has clean gutters and a 5-foot strip of gravel or bare earth around it. House B, next door, doesn’t — the gutters are half-full of dry debris, and there are fir needles and leaves — or decorative bark mulch — right up to the foundation. At House A, embers fall into the empty gutters and go out, and the flames burn up to a 5-foot strip of gravel or bare soil and stop. At House B, embers fall into the gutters and the debris starts burning, or the flames, though only a foot tall, burn right up to the house. Which one do you think has the best chance of surviving?
House A has a good chance of surviving. House B is likely to burn to the ground.
What’s worse, House B might burn so hot that it ignites House C next door, even though the owners had kept their gutters clean and created a defensible space. House C then ignites Houses D and E, and…. you get the picture. And this is assuming a relatively low-intensity wildfire.
This is an important message: Making your house and property more resilient to wildfire also helps make your neighborhood and community more resilient.
Still not convinced that you need a defensible space? Sooner or later, probably sooner, your insurance company will insist that you take action. I’ve heard that some locals have had messages like this from their companies: either you create defensible space, or we’re not going to cover you. Others have had their coverage dropped, period.
Want to know more? Consider attending Mountain Science Night on Wednesday, March 5, featuring Andy McEvoy, a faculty research assistant at Oregon State University. Topic: “Wildfire Risk in Western Oregon: Understanding the Present and Planning for the Future.” Where: The Rendezvous Grill. When: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Mountain Science Nights for April and May (the last until fall) also have wildfire themes. The events are sponsored by the Mt. Hood Corridor Wildfire Partnership (tinyurl.com/mumnuwmr). These events will be held on the first Wednesday of the month at The Vous.
Kudos to everyone who helped organize these events, especially Timberline Rim resident Melinda McCrossen and Marin Palmer, Wildfire Crisis Landscape Program Manager for the Mt. Hood National Forest.
At the risk (hazard?) of repeating myself, “The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. The next best time is now.” The same principle applies to preparing for wildfire: The best time to create a defensible space around your home was last year. The next best time is now.
Have a question about wildfire hazard or defensible space? Know the difference between hazard and risk? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.