View
3
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
The New Normal –Sustainable and
Firewise Landscaping
UC Master Gardener Program of
Sonoma County
Mimi Enright, Program Manager
Sustainable & Firewise Landscaping Framework & Agenda
• Sustainable & firewise landscaping
• Rebuilding soil after fire
• Landscape design for defensible space
• Maintenance & water use for a firewise garden
October, 2017
• Nor Cal: 172 wildfires
• Tubbs Fire: 36,807 acres • Pocket Fire: 17,357 acres • Nuns Fires: 56,556 acres
Total: 110,720 acres
Structures Destroyed: 7,010
Wildfire is Important • Fire adapted species need fire to
become established or survive
• Keeps forests and rangelands open
• Maintains oak woodlands
• Can promote wildlife habitat
• Removes fuels
• Frequent low intensity wildfire, reduces future high intensity wildfire
Photo: Redwood National Park
Sustainable Gardening
Right Plant,
Right Place
Protect & Encourage
Wildlife
Incorporate IPM
Nurture the Soil
Conserve Energy
Protect Water Quality
Conserve Water
Why Sustainable Gardening?
The key goals of sustainable gardening practices are to:
• sustain water availability and quality
• reduce off-site water movement into storm drains,
creeks, rivers & lakes
• reduce energy use
• reduce our green waste to landfill
• prevent soil degradation
• facilitate wildlife, and
• reduce the spread of invasive plant species
Summer Temperature Trends
Rainfall Trends in Sonoma County
Climate & Increased Wildfire
A rapidly warming climate may increase wildfire in California and the western United States in the near term, particularly in montane forests of the region, as greater evapotranspiration combines with highly variable precipitation to produce more frequent and intense droughts with drier vegetation. (Westerling, 2018)
Climate & Increased Wildfire
The presence and characteristics of wildfires are determined by biophysical factors :
• Temperature • Moisture • Wind • Vegetation
and anthropogenic factors: • Ignitions • development at the wildland- urban interface • wildfire suppression activities (Mann et al., 2016).
What is the WUI?
Wildland Urban Interface: The area where urban and suburban development meets undeveloped areas containing natural vegetation.
So why is it important?
Wildfire in the U.S.
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
7,000,000
10 year Average Acres Burned
There has been a 72% population increase in “WUI” areas since the 1960s.
There is no guarantee….
• Caerleon Safford, Fire Safe Sonoma:
– There were things we were very worried about that happened.
– There were things we didn’t think would happen that happened.
– Homes with all of the right stuff burned.
– Homes with none of the right stuff survived.
However...
• The information we will be presenting is firmly based in research.
• The principles are valid. • There is no such thing as a fireproof WUI home,
especially in extreme conditions. • It is well worth the time, expense and effort to
follow the principles. • We hope you can move forward with some good
tools and ideas for a fire-adapted home.
Homeowner action is key.
• Lately, there is more fire than there are firefighters.
• YOUR WORK will be the most effective defense for your home.
So What Can We do? During wildfires, home ignition is primarily related to:
• Vulnerabilities on the structure itself
• Fuels 100+ feet surrounding it.
• Weather
• Position on slope Jack Cohen, USFS
• Fuel + Oxygen + Heat = Fire – Which of these 3 can you control?
• Fuel is… anything that will burn –Dry or dead vegetation –Wood siding, roofing, fencing –Trees –Woody shrubs or perennials – Landscape mulch
Know the basics of fire:
Direct Flame
Radiant
Heat
Embers
Start with the House and work out!
AND “Harden”
structures to resist ignition
Two Guiding Principles to prevent wildfire home ignitions:
Decrease surrounding vegetation
Structure Survival Priorities for Wildland Fire :
① Roof / Edge
② Vents
③ Vegetation/Defensible Space and STUFF
④ Windows
⑤ Decks
⑥ Siding
Dr. Steve Quarles, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
Ember, radiant, and/or
flame impingement
exposures from near-
home vegetation, other
structures, and
wildfire
Exposure from embers
that may have been blown
a mile or more. Embers
can also ignite near-home
vegetation and debris.
Defensible Space
Fire Safe Councils
• Education and outreach
• Planning, such as Community Wildfire Protection Plans
• Community fuels reduction projects
Community Wildfire Protection Plans
• Collaboratively developed
• Identify community assets and risks
• Prioritize methods and strategies to reduce risk
• Identify funding sources and local solutions
Red Flag Warnings
• Issued by National Weather Service when conditions for a fire are at the highest
• 3 criteria are considered:
– Sustained wind speeds
– Relative humidity
– 10 hour fuel moisture
• See our Firewise: Red Flag Warning Days handout for specific hints & tips!
Current Scientific Studies Sonoma County Fires
• Produce Safety After Urban Wildfire in Sonoma County (citizen science)
• Soil Sampling (citizen science)
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR)
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Current Scientific Studies Sonoma County Fires
• Chemical exposures of firefighters (UC-Berkeley) • Impact of toxicants on food animals (backyard
chickens) (UC-Davis)
• Ash and air quality (UC-Davis)
Visit… The UC Master Gardener of Sonoma County Firewise Landscaping web page!
http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Firewise_Landscaping/
Sonoma Marin Water Saving Partnership • Collaborative of 10 utilities in Sonoma
and Marin Counties
• Formed in 2010 to maximize the cost effectiveness of water conservation in Sonoma and Marin and identify water use efficiency programs
• Regional and coordinated approach
www.savingwaterpartnership.org
Thank you!
• To all of the Master Gardeners who stepped up after the October 2017 fires to create firewise landscaping content for our community.
• Special thanks to Cal Fire, Fire Safe Sonoma, Yana Valachovic, UCCE Humboldt County & Van Butsic, UC Berkeley for sharing slides!
Recommended