FireWise teams offer free home visits to Peninsula
For more information, contact:
Judy Reese
FireWise Team Leader
907-260-4262
kpb.firewise.team@gmail.com
www.firewisekp.com
Alaskans are notoriously self-reliant, but when it comes to preparing their homes and property to withstand the threat of a wildfire, many are ill-prepared. Homes tightly nestled in a forest setting are virtually indefensible, while others with seemingly good clearing might still ignite because of a poorly-placed woodpile.
Many on the Peninsula learned that lesson first hand. When the Caribou Hills Fire raged through his neighborhood in 2007, many homes and cabins with cleared, defensible space around them survived. Others did not.
For those looking to improve their FireWise stance, help has arrived. Several grant-funded teams are making house calls across the Peninsula, aiding property owners and communities set priorities and protect what is theirs.
“We are so excited about the opportunity these FireWise teams offer,” said Judy Reese, FireWise Team Leader for the Kenai Peninsula. “Homes don’t burn if homes don’t ignite.”
Reese said the principles of the national FireWise program, which promotes creating defensible space on an individual and community-wide level, apply even more in the rural areas of Alaska. Last year’s Caribou Hills Fire is a perfect example, she said. Homes where owners had cleared, limbed, mowed and prepared for wildfire survived in many cases where more than 100 other structures did not.
“In remote areas, you can’t expect firefighting resources to protect your home if you haven’t prepared it in advance. For safety reasons, firefighters will quickly move past a home without defensible space or homes with poor access to work to save a home with adequate clearing instead,” she said. “The firefighters must be provided a safe place to work, and in doing the basics around your home, the likelihood of direct fire exposure is also reduced. Essentially, protecting your home is up to you.”
The Division of Forestry and the Kenai Peninsula Borough received a grant from USDA Forest Service in 2007 to promote FireWise principles on the Peninsula. The efforts are a response to critical needs identified in the Community Wildfire Protection Plans, which were completed in many areas in 2006. Those plans called for more education regarding defensible space and what landowners and community groups could do to reduce their risks.
While many elements of FireWise preparation are intuitive, such as clearing trees from around your home, other things that increase the risk of homes igniting may come as a surprise to landowners. Studies have shown that homes often burn after the wildfire has passed by. Debris-filled nooks where embers can smolder may be as great a danger as that nearby spruce.
“There’s a lot homeowners can learn and do to improve their stance,” Reese said. “FireWise works and often it is by paying attention to the little things.”
Reese said the grant money has also been used to launch a FireWise for All Seasons campaign, which encourages residents to think about reducing fire risk year-round.
“Most of the fires on the Peninsula are human-caused, and many of those are started when people burn slash in the spring,” she said. “If we can get the message across that it is best to burn in the fall and winter, and focus on preventing home ignitions in the spring and summer, we are ahead of the game.”
Residents can call the Alaska Division of Forestry at 907 260-4262 to sign up for a home assistance visit. Team members will call and schedule a time with homeowners. Teams are working in the evening and weekends if needed. In addition, FireWise teams can make presentations to community groups, clubs and organizations if requested.
For more information, including high-resolution photos of the Caribou Hills Fire, FireWise graphics, and FireWise checklists, go to www.firewisekp.com/media.html.