Share your voice and help reduce wildfire risk
As a very active wildfire season comes to a close, we can thank the hard work of our local firefighters, and a bit of luck, that the Applegate Valley escaped mostly unscathed. Now, there is an opportunity for the residents of Applegate to do our part to help protect our community by working together to update the Applegate Fire Plan.
The Applegate Fire Plan is our Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), published in 2002 by longtime Applegate residents Jack Shipley and Sandy Shaffer, and edited by Diana Coogle. It amazes me and gives me great pride that the first CWPP in the US didn’t come out of Washington, DC, or California, but instead from the talented and engaged folks right here in the Applegate. I’m sure many of you have the red three-ring binder that houses the old plan stashed somewhere on your bookshelf or in your closet. That binder is full of good stuff, but the Applegate has changed a lot over the past 22 years, and those changes need to be reflected in an updated plan that meets the needs of the residents now.
A CWPP is a community-driven plan that provides guidance on addressing community needs related to wildfire risk reduction, community preparedness, emergency response, and post-fire recovery. Mitigating the risk of an uncharacteristically severe wildfire is largely accomplished through forest management practices, defensible space work around homes, and education programs. Community preparedness and emergency response can be enhanced by improving and protecting evacuation routes, documenting resources that can assist during a wildfire (everything from an available excavator to pastures that can board evacuated animals), creating or updating phone trees and other neighborhood networks, and far more activities than can be listed here. Finally, the CWPP should have a post-fire recovery plan. How do we, as a community, band together to help residents who may lose homes or businesses? These questions need to be asked and, hopefully, answered well before a fire is at our doorstep. The challenges posed by wildfire are many, but I’ve been continuously amazed by the wide range of skills and experience that Applegaters possess. We will need to draw on that deep pool of talent here, locally, to keep our community safe.
Some practical, concrete benefits of an up-to-date CWPP are directly related to fuels-reduction work. The prioritization of locations for fuels-reduction work (cutting brush, dead trees, and overstocked stands) is one of the main functions of a CWPP. Also, most grants that will fund this work require that the CWPP for the area be no more than ten years old, or five in some cases. Therefore, this CWPP update process will guide the next five to ten years of fuels reduction work in the Applegate. I have heard from many landowners that the recent tree mortality has been a concern. If you want to have a say in that process or just want to know why the work is being planned where it is, this is your opportunity to get involved.
The Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council (APWC) secured funding through a US Department of Agriculture Community Wildfire Defense Grant to fund the update of our CWPP. Applegate Valley Fire District (AVFD) and the APWC will work collaboratively on this project. AVFD Fire Marshal and Deputy Chief Brian Mulhollen brings connections and experience that will be invaluable in getting this update completed. We will be holding several meetings over the next two years at fire stations and smaller neighborhood locations throughout the valley to give residents as many opportunities as possible to have their voices heard. No one knows the valley better than you, the residents who live here. Please share that knowledge with us to make sure that the plan we develop is as comprehensive and accurate as possible. If you are interested in hosting a neighborhood chat, please let us know. For more information, visit our website or contact us.
Nathan Gehres
Habitat Restoration Project Manager
Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council
541-899-9989
