Rick Cables, Regional Forester

1
Wildfire Issues in Wildland-Urban Interface
Areas

• Rick Cables, Regional Forester
• United States Forest Service
• Region Two
• August 5, 2008

2
US Forest ServiceCaring for the Land and
Serving the People

• The mission of the USDA Forest
• Service is to sustain the health,
• diversity, and productivity of the
• Nations forests and grasslands to meet
• the needs of present and future
• generations.

3
Region 2

• The Rocky Mountain Region manages 17 National
• Forests and 7 National Grasslands in Colorado,
• Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

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Fighting Wildfires

• Personnel
• Leadership
• Technology
• Equipment

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Fire Suppression Resources in Colorado

• Interagency partnership

• Engines 44
• Aircraft 3 Helicopters
• Firefighters 223
• Hot Shot Crews 3

6
Rocky Mountain Region FY 2008 Wildland Fire
Funding
FS Grants to State of Colorado
Hazardous Fuels Reduction
State Fire Assistance
Volunteer Fire Assistance
Adjacent lands
Non-adjacent lands
CWPP development, hazard mitigation, preparedness
Preparedness,training, equipment
184,370
2,439,000
462,240
2,687,385
516 acres treated
13,336 acres treated
605 communities assisted
450 volunteer fire depts assisted
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Forest Service State and Private Forestry Grants
to the State of Colorado
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Fuels Funding for National Forests in Colorado
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Hazardous Fuels Reduction National Forests in
Colorado

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Protecting Communities and Restoring Forests

• Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership
• Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative

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Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership
Hazard Risk and Values Map Arapaho-Roosevelt
and Pike-San Isabel NFs
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Mountain Pine Beetle Colorado Bark Beetle
Cooperative

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New Threats More than just fire

• Hazard trees threaten
• Roads
• Trails
• Power lines
• Water conveyances

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Areas Where Hazard Trees Threaten Public Safety

• Routt, White River,
• Arapaho and Roosevelt
• National Forests
• 860 miles of trails
• (20 of all trails)
• 2,740 miles of roads
• (45 of all roads)

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Additional Funding Requested

• June 6, 2008 letter to the Chief of the Forest
  Service from Region 2
• I am requesting additional emergency funding
  over our FY08 levels to reduce the hazard from
  falling trees and fuel loadings and funding to
  mitigate other threats caused by this epidemic.
• Requested 214 million dollars over next 3 years
• FY09 57,379,000
• FY10 75,172,000
• FY11 81,971,000

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How Can You Help

• Examine zoning regulations for communities in the
  Wildland-Urban Interface.
• Continued Support for Federal Funding Requests.
• Pre-disaster mitigation grants (FEMA, SB 221).
• Prescribed Fire and Smoke Management.

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Thanks for Your Help

• Colorado General Assembly in 2008 passed many
  pieces of legislation related to forest health.
• This legislation is critical to allowing the
  State and US Forest Service to work together to
  create healthy forests.

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Questions?