Fire! Lessons Learned from Extensive Fires in New Mexico

ASFPM Conference Hartford, CTJune 13, 2013

William Borthwick, CFM, NMDHSEM Floodplain CoordinatorRigel Rucker, PE, CFM, URS CorporationPhilip Drazek, PE, CFM, URS Corporation

oduction – Why is This Important to You?w Mexico = desert?

ry diverse State

storically, fires have been a big oblem for the State

Average annual rainfall approx. 13 inches

Among 5 lowest States for precip.

Anyone remember Smokey?

cent droughts have exacerbated the uation

2012 fire 465 square miles

s presentation aims to educate on erconnected disasters

Causes and effects of fire

Applicable everywhere

Discuss lessons learned From National Atlas of the United States

From University of Texas Libraries

rview

Realities of Fire

Recent New Mexico Fires

Effects of Fires

Response

Recovery

Preparedness

Lessons Learned / Best Practices

From: US Forest Service

lities of Fire

ntributing Factors

Drought

• New Mexico drought worst in United States

• April 14, 2013 New Mexico passed Nebraska

Wind

ow Humidity

• Typically below 20% in summer

lities of Firere on Drought

Current drought 3 years

th driest since record-keeping began in New Mexico more than a century ago

ongest since 1950s New Mexico suffered 7 consecutive years

argest State reservoir

• Used for irrigation

• Typical release 38.7%

• This year’s 4.2%

armers using

roundwater

Allotments cut off

month in advance

shortened growing season) for Pecos and Rio Grande

lities of Fireuses of Fires

Human-caused – 9,443 ationwide in 2012

• ATVs/machinery

• Campfires

• Cigarettes

• Electrical, etc.

Thunderstorms/lightning 58,331 nationwide in 012

Dry lightning

ult? – Recent Large New Mexico Firesge fires occurred in

50s and 2000s

itewater-Baldy mplex: Catron County, , 2012

297,845 acres

Largest, almost 10% of CT

Conchas: Los mos, NM, 2011

156,593 acres

naldson: Lincoln unty, NM, 2011

101,563 acres

3? Tres LagunasSilverThompson Ridge

ult? – New Mexico Fires to Note

cKnight Fire: Grant ounty, NM, 1951

48,052 acres

erro Grande: Near Los amos, NM, 2000

48,000 acres

tle Bear: Lincoln ounty, NM, 2012

44,330 acres

224 residences

apitan Gap Fire mokey): Lincoln ounty, NM, 1950

17,000 acres

cts of Firese is Essential to Ecosystem

er 9.3 Million Acres Burned Nationwide in 2012, Over 67,700 Fires

Roughly size of MA and CT combined

Only 3 times on record (After 60s)

400,000 acres in New Mexico

st to Life

Human

Nature

onomic Costs

Infrastructure – over $1 billion damaged nationwide

Homes – 2,125 homes lost nationwide

• Compare to average of 2,600

Businesses, power outages, evacuation, etc.

• Some never recover

Manpower – almost $2 billion in suppression

• 23 million in New Mexico

iritual and Cultural impact – Santa Clara Pueblo, Dixon Apple Orchard

approximate locations of the 2009‐12 NM wildfires that affected areas greater than 40k acres

cts of Firesironmental Costs

Pollution

• Stream

• Water

ncrease in flooding

• Hydrophobic soils

• Runoff

• Sediment bulking

• Debris flow

• Erosion

• Silted reservoirs

- Bonito Lake

- Cochiti

cts of Firesdfires Change the Hydrology and Hydraulics he Watershed

rologic Impacts

Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) eams use regression or SCS methods for evelopment of peak flows

Different studies used to calculate the mpact to CNs

Few studies demonstrate post-fire runoff CNs

ro Grande Fire

00-year event est. 30 cfs for Pueblo Canyon Watershed above Diamond Drive

Post-fire 100-year event peak est. at 3,000 fs

uly 2001, 25-year event produced 2,000 cfs

cts of Fires

ydrologic Impacts

- Hydrophobic soils

- Livingston and others (2005)

• Study results applicable to the Los Alamos area and other areas in the southwest

Soil burn severity Estimated CN

High, with water repellent soils  95

High, without water repellent soils  92

Moderate, with water repellent soils  89

Moderate, without water repellent soils 

87

Low 80‐83

Unburned 55‐75

ologic Soilp

Pre‐fire CN Post‐fire CNLow Burn Severity

Post‐fire CNMedium Burn Severity

Post‐fire CNHigh Burn Severity

56 65 ‐ ‐

67 70‐75 80 90

77 80‐85 90 95

cts of Fires

ydraulic Impacts

Decrease in Manning’s n due to loss of vegetation

Increase in sediment bulking

Removal of storage

Removal of infiltration

Unforeseen blockages and diversions

Dixon Apple Orchard Flooding Video

Response

ponseal Incident Management System (NIMS)

mise: all incidents begin and end locally

dent Command System (ICS)

ype 1: National and State Level

Large-scale National or State incident

ype 2: National and State Level

Smaller scale National or State incident

ype 1: National and State Level

larger scale national or state incidents

• Type 3: State or Metropolitan Area Level

• Type 4: City, County, or Fire District Level

• Type 5: Local Village and Township Level

EMI ICS 200 Course

nal Incident Management Organization

FS Experts!

al: manage complex wildland fire

s Conchas Fire – 1st time NIMO in NM

Threat to Los Alamos National Laboratory

Physical land size of the fire

ponse

t Responders typically at local level

State Forestry / NM DHSEM

Federal Partnerships

onal Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)

LM, BIA, NASF, NPS, NWS,USFA, SFS, USFWS

eographic Area Coordination Center

Southwest Coordination Center (SWCC)

BLM, BIA,USFS, USFWS, NPS, NM Forestry and AZ Forestry

ponseated Response

w.inciweb.org

teragency all-risk incident formation management system

rovide the public a single source f incident information

rovide a standardized reporting ol for the Public Affairs

ommunity

Fire info

tp://nmfireinfo.com/

PS, USFWS, BIA, BLM,NM

ponsecant Manpower requireds Lagunas: ver 1000 personnel 5 Hand CrewsHelicopters8 engines1 bulldozers3 water tenders

40% containedOver 10,000 acres burned

From Santa Fe New Mexican, Photo By Nicholas Generous: An air tanker drops fire retardant on the Tres Lagunas Fire in Pecos Canyon.

Recovery

overy

tershed Recovery of Burned as

Raking

Seeding and Mulching

Tree Planting

- 2001 Cerro Grande

From: www.highparkfirerestoration.com

From: Albuquerque Journal. Reseeding after Whitewater-Baldy

From: KRQE

overyQRE: The U.S. Forest Service n planting small trees in the ar area to help reforestation.

lasted about three weeks from to May 1. Roughly 451,000 new re planted.

CE: Debris flow following Las Conchas fire in Cochiti Lake

Paso Times 7/31/2012

Little Bear Fire

- Bonito Lake impacted

- City of Alamogordo water supply threatened

Las Conchas Fire

- Cochiti Reservoir damaged

• Log-boom installed

- Santa Clara Pueblo

• Hazard Mitigation Work Underway

- Stream bank stabilization

- Debris catchment

overy

Grande-Pueblo Canyon

fire Q=30cfs

-fire Q=3000 cfs

Road Reconstruction

Culvert replaced w/ 2-10’x10’ C US and 12’x12’ CBC DS

nd Drive

bankment:

west side,140’ east side

sidered jurisdictional dam

culvert replaced with 12’ el

From: Kyle Zimmerman Los Alamos County Engineer

Diamond Drive

North Road

From: Kyle Zimmerman Los Alamos County Engineer

overyate/Federal

Partnerships

State of NM tailors activity with agencies in ICS during recovery phase

The Silver Jackets stakeholders serve as part of the mitigation phase

• Joint Federal operation: NOAA/USGS/ USFS/BOR/BIA/USACE

• Crowd source as much as possible

SFS BAER

Protect life, property, water quality, and deteriorated ecosystems

From:http://lasconchasbaer.info

Preparedness

paredness: if you have drought need to do treach and flood outreach

er of Resources

FS/FEMA /USFA

ional Fire Protection Association

mmunity Wildfire Protection Planw.Firewise.org

w.fireadapted.org/

w.firerestrictions.us/nm

w.flash.org

w.nmdhsem.org/Mitigation.aspx

//www.ready.gov/wildfires

w.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/we/

w.nmwatch.org

MFireInfo

From:http://www.cabq.gov/fire/safety-information/wildfire-safety/defensible-space

parednessFederal

dget constraints – NM uses creative funding ons resulting in piggybacking funding with

deral agencies

ver Jackets – share resources ($) and npower

Emergency watershed protection program

tic storm: NOAA, NWS, and State of NM

Work with Emergency Managers

2 briefings/year: wildfire and winter storms

te of NM and USACE – sand bag training communities in Whitewater-Baldy ershed after the fire but prior to the nsoon season

S / State of NM: Erosion Control / Debris studies after Las Conchas

From:The Forestry Division of the New Mexico Energy, Mineralsand Natural Resources Department

Lessons Learned / Best Practices

amos, NM

dbury Science Museum ving with Wildfire: A Shared ommunity Experienceecording personal stories of wildfire to nderstand the effects a wildfire has on community and the environmenttp://livingwithwildfire.org/

Tableechnology developed at LANL and table technology simulates ildland fire response and mitigation aining anning and mitigation of multiple

azards: wildfire, flood, erosionommunity outreach component

sons Learned / Best Practices

http://www.lanl.gov/museum/participate/share-stories.shtml

From:www.simtable.com

amos, NM

ergency Operations at LANL continually plans prepares for the yearly NM wildfire season

mmerman, Los Alamos County, NM Engineer:

ow your watersheds

od GIS network with footprints

ow your fire risk

form clearing

ow what to do after a disaster – Who, What, en, Where, Why

ticipate in Emergency Response Tabletops

to know your Emergency Manager before a aster

rn how to design for post-fire conditions – build er structures with sedimentation capability or ove structures that would be lost but cause

mage to other infrastructure.

sons Learned / Best Practices

From: Kyle Zimmerman Los Alamos County Engineer

Grande

cate stakeholders about rconnected hazards

t-fire curve numbers generate ch higher flows and large amounts ebris

ger floodplains

Federal

er Jackets

Bring multiple agencies together or an emergency phase

Coordinate/collaborate and build elationships in preparedness for he next disaster

ch

y and often!

sons Learned / Best Practices

y is this Important?: Future…

Questions?