Wildfire Mitigation Plans
Responsible Staff: Christine Walker
This service is made possible through a grant form the New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Managment
Purpose
Over the past century America’s population has nearly tripled, with much of the growth moving to areas with rural and natural assets. This movement has created an extremely complex landscape now commonly known to those in the fire industry as the wildland-urban interface. This interface is where development meets forest, grasslands, farmlands or other open natural space. Wildfire can pose an increasing threat to lives, homes and businesses when development increases the wildland-urban interface area. NCC aims to assist communities in minimizing these threats by identifying where threats are the greatest and assisting communities to develop mitigation measures.
Description
The Wildfire Planning process will help a community identify what wildfire risks there may be and how to implement projects or educational programs to reduce those risks. The first step will be to organize a committee within the community that will facilitate the process. Through this committee NCC will gather data and develop a GIS analysis which will visually identify wildfire risks to the community. A risk assessment map identifying risk levels throughout the community will also be developed. The committee will then meet to discuss the information gathered, identify if there are implications to the community’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, prioritize recommendations for reducing risks and develop an action plan. NCC will compile recommendations toward reducing risks and provide an assessment strategy for implementation. The committee will finalize the plan by presenting it to the public.
(picture credit karen wattenmaker)
Timeframe
NCC has received funding for two years to implement a number of plans for the North Country. During the first six months NCC will develop a process for developing the wildfire plans, collaborate with other federal, state and regional organizations doing similar work and create a “Guide to Wildfire Planning for New Hampshire Communities” as a template for other NH RPCs to follow. NCC plans to begin working with individual communities sometime in March or April of 2006. The plans are estimated to take approximately 2 to 4 months depending on participation levels within communities and capacity within NCC and the community.
Current Plans Underway
City of Berlin, Town of Groton, Town of Pittsburg, Town of Bethlehem
Related Services & Programs
Hazard Mitigation Planning – NCC will create wildfire plans that will be integrated with a community’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. If you do not have a Hazard Mitigation Plan in place NCC has the flexibility to work with communities through a team approach and develop these plans concurrently.
Wildfire Mapping Services - Communities may wish to have background data which was used to determine assessment ratings for Wildfire Plans.