Alpine County Community Fire Plan

The Alpine County Community Fire Plan was prepared by the Alpine Fire Safe Council with financial support from the United States Forest Service - Region 4, Alpine County Resource Advisory Council, Alpine County Board of Supervisors, Community-Based Wildfire Prevention Grant - California BLM, Sacramento Regional Foundation, and the California Fire Safe Council. It has been adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Funding has been obtained to implement the number one priority projects in both the Markleeville and Woodfords areas during 2005-2006.

After the 1987 Acorn fire where 26 homes were lost in Alpine County a committee was formed to determine what went wrong and what needed to be done to prevent future disasters. Their report is available here (431 KB).

Below is the executive summary of the current plan. To receive a copy of the complete plan on CD please contact us.

Executive Summary

Alpine County has always lived with the threat of wildfire. The most destructive fire on the Sierra Front occurred in Alpine County in 1987 when 26 homes were lost. With increasing population in the County, this threat continues to grow. The Alpine Fire Safe Council seeks to reduce this threat by developing a coordinated planning effort to address the hazards in our communities.

Numerous communities in Alpine County are threatened by wildfire. These communities fall into various wildfire community planning areas. They are:

• Woodfords
• Markleeville
• Bear Valley
• Kirkwood

The Bear Valley section is currently under development.  The Kirkwood Planning Area section will be included in a future revision.

Hazards and risks were assessed for communities in each of the planning areas. These hazards and risks were rated low, medium, or high. A number of different elements were evaluated in the hazard assessment. The results of the communities assessed are in the tables below:

Woodfords Planning Area Ratings

Markleeville Planning Area Ratings

The homeowner is the first line of defense in protecting a structure from wildfire. Creating effective defensible space and using appropriate building materials is crucial to structural survivability. In general, defensible space needs to be improved in our communities.

Adequate county fire suppression resources are another important line of defense against wildfire. The volunteer fire departments receive appropriate training for wildland firefighting, but staffing enough volunteers is a challenge. Equipment is serviceable, but structure engines are old and scheduled for replacement.  The Woodfords Planning Area lacks adequate water storage and distribution systems.

Modifying the fuel loadings around the communities reduces the risk of a fire burning into, or out of, a community. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have initiated several fuels reduction projects around these communities to address these fuel loadings. A more aggressive approach to fuels treament and reduction should be implemented.

To address these issues, this plan outlines a number of recommendations and projects to mitigate the fire threat. They include:

• Continue the public education campaign regarding wildfire. Increase public awareness of wildfire hazards around homes and the need for effective defensible space. Continue the Courtesy Fire Safe Review program to provide homeowners specifics on creating defensible space.
• Continue and expand the community burn pile / biomass disposal solutions. The program has been successful and provides the most cost effective way to dispose of material. Increase the time it is open, develop consistent removal option, and find an alternative location to Turtle Rock Park community burn pile/biomass disposal site.
• Seek community participation in the Eastern Alpine County Fire Services Planning process.  As fire suppression needs are significantly increasing, the community must approve a solution proposed by the Eastern Alpine County Fire Services Plan and support its implementation to ensure fire services can meet those needs.
• Review and modify, if necessary, existing county codes and ordinances designed to address fire safe issues in community design and building construction.
• Implement on-the-ground fuels reduction projects and water system improvements.
• Seek consistent enforcement of defensible space regulations through the creation of a County Fire Marshal position.

A list of specific projects has been developed as follows:

Woodfords Planning Area Mitigation Projects

Priority	Name	Acres	Estimated Cost
1	Upper Diamond Valley/Manzanita Fuels Treatment	141	$282,000
2	School Age Wildfire Education Program	n/a	$2,550
3	Residential Lot Treatment	50	$25,000

Markleeville Planning Area Mitigation Projects

Priority	Name	Acres	Estimated Cost
1	Roadway and Utility Access Treatment	31	$96,000
2	Develop and implement an Evacuation Plan for the Hot Springs Road Corridor	n/a	$15,000
3	Private Land Fire and Forest Health Co-op	392	$804,000
4	Residential Lot Treatment	50	$65,000
5	Create Alternative Evacuation Routes and Community Safety Zones	n/a	$5,000

A list of specific responsibilities has also been developed.

For the Woodfords Planning Area:

Homeowners:

For the entire Woodfords Planning Area:

1. Replace flammable roofing materials with fire-resistant materials.
2. Provide a minimum of 100' defensible space around all structures.
3. Support the Woodfords Volunteer Fire Department in the actions listed below.

For the Upper Diamond Valley/Manzanita Lane neighborhood:

1. Pursue the creation of a secondary evacuation route from the Manzanita Lane subdivision.
2. Thin overstory and clear brush as soon as possible and plan for retreatment at four to five year intervals.
3. Widen roads and provide turnouts and turnarounds for fire apparatus.

For the Mesa Vista Community:

1. Actively support efforts to install community hydrant system.
2. Masticate brush for defensible space and plan for retreatment at four to five year intervals.

Woodfords Volunteer Fire Department:

1. Actively coordinate training with the Markleeville Volunteer Fire Department.
2. Participate in an annual, pre-fire season tabletop exercise with the Alpine County Sheriff's Office, Markleeville Volunteer Fire Department, CDF, and USFS to develop a coordinated agency response to a wildfire incident.  Topics should include communications, training, and equipment resources.
3. Pursue dedicated access to key draft sites located on public and private lands.
4. Pursue a long term solution to fire suppression services with the Markleeville Volunteer Fire Department and the Eastern Alpine County Fire Services Plan.
5. Increase the number of trained volunteers.
6. Continue to purchase wildland firefighting equipment and train volunteers to National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) 310-1 certification levels.

For the Markleeville Planning Area

Homeowners:

For the entire Markleeville Planning Area:

1. Replace flammable roofing materials with fire-resistant materials.
2. Provide a minimum 100' defensible space around all structures.
3. Support the Markleeville Volunteer FIre Department in pursuit of recommended actions. below.

For Markleevillage/Thornburg Subdivisions:

1. Pursue the creation of a secondary evacuation route from the subdivision.
2. Thin overstory and clear brush.

For Shay Creek Subdivision:

1. Widen roads and provide turnouts and turnarounds for fire apparatus. 
2. USFS must develop an aggressive Defensible Fuel Profile Zone(DFPZ) as soon as possible for adjacent forest lands.

Markleeville Volunteer Fire Department:

1. Actively coordinate training with the Woodfords Volunteer Fire Department.
2. Assist in developing a community evacuation plan for the Hot Springs Cooridor.
3. Participate in annual pre-fire season tabletop exercise with the Alpine County Sheriff's Office, Woodfords Volunteer Fire Department, CDF, and USFS to develop a coordinated agency response to a wildfire incident.  Topics should include communications, training, and equipment resources.
4. Pursue dedicated access to key draft sites located on public and private lands.
5. Pursue long term solution to fire suppression services with the Woodfords Volunteer Fire Department and the Eastern Alpine County Fire Services Plan.
6. Continue to purchase wildland firefighting equipment and train volunteers to NWCG 310-1 certification levels.

For All of the Planning Areas:

Alpine County Sheriff's Office:

1. Establish community safety zones for use when evacuation routes are compromised.  Develop a shelter-in-place plan.
2. Assist in developing community evacuation plan for high risk neighborhoods with limited access.
3. Participate in annual pre-fire season tabletop exercise with the Alpine County Sheriff's Office, Markleeville Volunteer Fire Department, Woodfords Volunteer Fire Department, CDF, and USFS to develop a coordinated agency response to a wildfire incident.  Topics should include communications, training, and equipment resources.

Alpine County Board of Supervisors

1. Ensure the emergency services agencies are addressing the public safety issues outlined in this plan.
2. Support use of county-owned chipper in local fuel reduction projects.
3. Pursue and enforce legislation, ordinances, or other codes to eliminate wildland fuel hazards within the communities.
4. Lobby federal agencies to implement fuels reduction projects on public lands surrounding communities.
5. Explore Biomass Utilization Opportunities.  Long term biomass disposal solutions should include developing alternatives other than the community burn pile.  Cost effective biomass disposal solutions, such as commerical processing in the Carson Valley or utilization by government and school buildings, should be explored.  The background information necessary to pursue biomass opportunities can be found in Appendix  1. 
6. Support community efforts to increase water supply and distribution.
7. Expand Solutions for Community Fuels Disposal.  The Community Burn Pile, coordinated by the Alpine County Public Works Department, is a success.   Every fall and spring, tons of biomass materials is cleared from lots in the community and burned.  This results in a reduction of fuels in our neighborhoods.  This opportunity should be continued.  Solution for fuels reduction within the community during times other than when the burn pile is available should be explored in concert with the Alpine Fire Safe Council.
8. Enforce existing defensible space ordinances by creating and filling a County Fire Marshal position.

 

Alpine Fire Safe Council

1. Establish system for monitoring and maintaining fuel reduction projects.
2. Continue to provide public education information on defensible space at County buildings, though mailings, and through Courtesy Fire Safe Reviews.
3. Explore and facilitate community fuels reducation projects.  Assist the Alpine County Board of Supervisors as requested with development of fuels reduction solutions.
4. Actively support the efforts of the local fire departments and otehr emergency services in mitigating wildfire risk.

Utilities (power and water)

1. Encourage Sierra Pacific Power to provide a local power shut-off including necessary training for VFD and Alpine County Sheriff. 
2. Remove and chip fuels from underneath power lines and power poles.
3. Update existing water utilities and increase storage capacity.  Replace water system with year round, larger lined system.  Maintain clearly-marked potable and non-potable water sources.