Poe Cabin Fire

Our fire season started early this year, and so far I’ve seen no indication that it’s going to be anything but a long, hot, smoky, and probably miserable, summer. At the time of this writing we have twenty major fire incidents working in the Northern Rockies region of North Idaho, Montana, part of Wyoming, and North Dakota. We’re not alone either, considering that the entire great basin area (part of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and south Idaho) seems to be burning, with twenty major fire incidents working, along with the Oregon and Washington region having six major incidents working, and several more recently contained. As I understand the statistics, so far this year we’ve had over 56,000 fires large and small across the nation, at a loss of more than 4.5 million acres of federal, state, and private lands. The nationwide extended weather outlook doesn’t promise any relief either.

Several days ago I toured the northern area of the Poe Cabin fire (mostly the Twin Rivers Ranch area) with Brian Scott of the incident command staff. Brian hails from South Dakota where (when he’s not out on major fires) he works as a natural resources technician for the state’s Department of Agriculture. He briefly described the problems facing the IMT and the firefighters, which included rugged terrain, fast burning fuels, hot and dry weather of course, and a shortage of fire fighting resources. I’ve fought a few fires in nasty terrain before, but the area these crews are working in would have to be very near the top of my list of nastiness! It looks like these guys are doing a whale of a job, with particular kudos to both the Whitebird and Salmon River Rural Fire Departments, who held the line alone for quite some time.

We met up with Mike Dannenberg of the BLM (in Montana), who’s in charge of the Structural Protection Unit on the northern perimeter of the fire. Mike also noted the particular problems of wildland firefighting in this area, and stressed the value of having a defensible space around each home. During our tour he showed us a prime example of a highly defensible home, that he thought should be a “Poster Child” for the Fire Safe program. For anyone who’s not aware of it, “Fire Safe” is an effort to teach homeowners living in or near wild lands how to protect their homes from the ravages of wildfire. The home he showed us has a number of safety features built-in to the landscaping, in that brush and tall grass were not allowed near the place, and a fire free decorative gravel strip had been placed all around the house and yard. Mentioning the terrain features, Mike pointed out that the house was very near the head of a brushy ravine that would funnel a fire right to the house. However, in this case the house is set back slightly from the ravine, and any intervening brush had been removed. I didn’t notice any shade trees near the house, but Mike also said that while our local conifers are comparatively easy to ignite, hardwood trees are apparently much more difficult to set afire. If you have a choice, hardwoods are a safer bet. He commented that if he were in Reno, and were a betting man, he’s bet that this particular home would survive a burnover. In visiting another home close by, Mike pointed out several problem areas, in that tall grass, brush, and trees were in very close proximity to the house, providing a fuel chain directly to the house. Pity, it’s a nice looking home.

First and foremost, we all recognize that fire is a natural part of our environment. Today, as the population continues to move away from the suburbs and into a more rural setting, homes are being built and maintained without regard to wildfire hazards. With our present warmer summers and drought conditions, and with more people using our wildlands for recreational purposes, there is also a greater chance of fire starts. Today’s wildfires often burn very intensely and can be quite difficult to control. Fire in the “Urban Interface” is a growing problem nationwide. (“Urban Interface” being defined as the place where towns meet the woods.) A lot of people assume that when a wildfire starts, it will be quickly controlled and extinguished. This is accurate most of the time, for most wildfires. But occasionally wildfires burn so intensely that there is little firefighters can do, particularly so if the home isn’t defensible. In most areas, a safety zone should be cleared away from your home for a distance of not less than 30 feet. As the slope of your home site increases, additional clearance as far out as 100 feet or more may be necessary. Flammable vegetation too close to your home will make it almost impossible for firefighters to save much of anything in the event of a fire. When people are living in high hazard fire environments, the human built environment becomes an important factor in the loss of life and property. Untreated wood shake and shingle roofs, narrow and one-way roads, limited access, lack of fire-wise landscaping, inadequate water supplies, are all examples of the increased risk to people living with the threat of wildfire.

Quoting from a Fire Safe pamphlet; “Clear away flammable vegetation and combustible growth a minimum of 30 feet away from homes. If a wooden deck is part of the back of the home, this 30-foot distance starts from the edge of the deck outward. Brush and weeds must be cut to the ground, raked up, and removed from the property. Single specimens of trees and shrubbery used as ground cover, provided that they don’t form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any structure, can be kept in this 30-foot space. Trim trees horizontally to at least 10 feet away from the home and decks. If a homeowner wishes to keep a tree within this 10-foot distance they must trim any nearby trees a minimum of 10 feet away from this tree within this first 30-foot space. Large trees must be limbed up to a minimum of six feet above the ground and smaller trees limbed up proportionately. Homes that have any type of slope must have an additional defensible space created. This distance must be an additional minimum of 70-foot space in addition to the first 30 feet for a total of 100 feet. In this additional 70-foot space, the vegetation should be cut so that it is not more than 18” above the ground. The cut vegetation can be left in place as long as it is mulched down. Trees within this 70-foot space should also be limbed up a minimum of 6 feet above the ground for large trees and proportionately for smaller trees. Flammable vegetation and combustible growth should be cut and removed from below the canopies of the trees in this 70-foot space.”

To this I’ll add that we all have an assortment of flammable materials around the place. Gasoline for the lawnmower, paints and thinners, propane tanks, whatever. These materials present not only more fuel for a fire, they can also be quite hazardous to the firefighter that’s trying to save your home. Store them safely, well away from the house. Due to a disastrous fire incident I was involved with years ago, propane tanks in a fire situation are one of my major concerns. If you use propane, make sure than there are no fuels anywhere near the tank. Keep the brush as far away as you can, keep the grass under the tank cut, and don’t hide the tank behind a wall of firewood!

It’s your home, “Learn not to burn.”