Tag: community disaster preparedness

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Firewise Landscaping


Title and Description

Firewise Landscaping

Home survival in wildfire prone areas depends on a combination of appropriate landscape design, adequate vegetation management in the area surrounding your home (i.e., your “defensible space”) and choices regarding building materials and design decisions for the home or building. Yvonne Barkley has been educating audiences about fire in the wildland/urban interface and firewise landscaping since 1995. JoAnne Skelly has been teaching “Firescaping – Landscape Design for Wildfire Defense” since 1999. This one-hour webinar will …

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Predicting Mortality in Western Larch After a Wildfire

Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID and
David C. Powell, USDA Forest Service

 

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Western larch, also called tamarack, is the largest of the American larches and is one of the few deciduous conifers. Occurring only in the Upper Columbia River Basin of North America, western larch can reach heights of 150-175 feet and commonly live to be hundreds of years old.

Long-lived and with few serious natural enemies, western larch is able to persist in …

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Predicting the Mortality of Conifers After a Wildfire

Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID

 

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Predicting the mortality of conifers after a wildfire is important for post-fire planning and management. Fire resistance varies greatly with plant species and factors such as age. In general, young, fast-growing trees on good sites will be better able to withstand damage from fire than over-mature, slow-growing trees on poor sites.

Additional general statements that hold true across species are:

  • as the percent of crown scorch increases, mortality increases.
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Evacuation Preparations for Your Livestock


Photo source: Susie Heffernan

Prepare before the fire occurs by keeping the corrals and barns free of fuel (vegetation or hay) and have halters or facilities to load and remove the animals. Have an evacuation plan for livestock, including routes, transportation needs, and host site. Share your plan with your neighbors in case you are absent. Do not wait to the last minute to transport livestock as roads can become clogged and difficult to maneuver with a trailer. Make sure …

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Evacuation Preparations for Your Pets

Article Written by:
Glenn Nader, University of California Cooperative Extension, Yuba City, CA

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foreversouls/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Have pet carriers ready in case you need to evacuate. This will prevent the animals from escaping during evacuation by limiting their movement in the vehicle and when you arrive at the evacuation destination. Make sure you have a leash if your dog(s) are too large to fit in a pet carrier. Many shelters do not take pets, so make plans before …

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Evaluating Damage to Your Home After a Wildfire

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Evaluating damage to your home after a wildfire should be done at the first opportunity. Your insurance agent should be the first person you contact. The agent will be able to tell you how to proceed with a claim. Do not start to clean up or throw away anything until your agent has inspected the damage. Do start taking pictures and video as soon as you arrive back home.

It may be necessary for a construction professional to come and …

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Safely Returning to Your Home After a Wildfire

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Safely Returning to Your Home after a Wildfire

Many homeowners wonder when it is safe to return to their homes after a wildfire. Once you are given the “all clear” to go home, what you should look for outside and inside the home to ensure you and your families safety?

In most states, permission to return home after a wildfire is usually given by a local fire or law enforcement authority such as your county sheriff’s office. They deem it …

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Using Barriers to Control Erosion after a Wildfire

Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID

 

 

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Using barriers to control erosion after a wildfire is a common practice. Barriers are installed on hillslopes and in streams to slow water flow, increase infiltration, and trap sediment. There are several types of barriers:

  • Log barriers are anchored on the contour of burned slopes to provide immediate protection. They are often used where erosion rates will be high. This treatment is appropriate for slopes of less than 40
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