Wildfire and Population Growth Are On a Collision Course in the Sierra

Fire is natural & unavoidable in the Sierra

The Sierra Nevada is a fire-dependent landscape. California’s Mediterranean climate of wet winters and hot, dry summers creates the exact conditions for fire to flourish. Sierra plants, animals and forests evolved with fire for thousands of years, and have adapted to not only survive with fire, but to depend upon it. The health of the Sierra landscape depends upon frequent, low-intensity fires that thin crowded forests, recycle nutrients, and increase biodiversity (Barbour, 1993).

New Findings of This Report:

• Between 1990 and 2000, the number of people living in very high or extreme fire threat areas of the Sierra grew by 16%.
• 94% of the land slated for rural residential development in the Sierra is classified by CalFire as very high or extreme fire threat.

• Between 1990 and 2000, the Sierra’s wildland urban interface (or WUI) grew by 131,000 acres, a 12% increase.

• Better community planning can help reduce the number of lives and homes at risk.

Decades of fire suppression and logging have created a tinderbox

After the gold rush, fire suppression became the standard practice, and these small, low-intensity fires were regularly put out. This seemingly good idea has had disastrous consequences. After 100 years of fire suppression and logging large, fire-resistant trees, Sierra forests have become virtual tinderboxes, crowded with dead brush and small trees. (Barbour, 1993). The continuing conversion of mature, fire-resistant forests to plantations and other industrial logging practices are compounding the fire threats in the Sierra Nevada, taking what was a fire-adapted forest system and making it much more vulnerable to catastrophic fire. Unlike the small, low-intensity fires that used to be the norm, Sierra wildfires today are much more likely to become catastrophic crown fires that char everything in their path.

The Sierra is growing – into wildfire areas

The Sierra is the third-fastest growing region of California, and that growth is putting more people directly in the path of catastrophic wildfire. By 2040, the population of the Sierra will triple to 1.5 million - 2.4 million residents (Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project,
1996). New research by Sierra Nevada Alliance finds that 94% of the land slated for rural residential development is in areas classified by CalFire as very high or extreme fire hazard.

Unsafe growth patterns increase fire danger

The wildland urban interface -- the area where houses and wildlands meet, and where catastrophic wildfires are likely to destroy lives and property -- is growing rapidly in the Sierra. New research by Sierra Nevada Alliance finds that between 1990 and 2000, the
wildland urban interface (WUI) in the Sierra grew by 12%. As the size of the wildland-urban interface grows, so does the risk of catastrophic wildfire that destroys lives and property.

The WUI in the Sierra is characterized by low-density housing development scattered in a sea of flammable vegetation. This pattern of low-density development, with one house every 2-80 acres, is often referred to as “rural ranchette” development. Ranchette development in the WUI makes it more difficult and more costly for fire managers to prevent wildfires and protect homes and lives when major fires do occur.

Climate change is increasing wildfire danger

At the same time that population growth is putting more people in fire hazard areas, climate change is already making summers in the Sierra hotter and drier, leading to an increase in the frequency and severity of catastrophic wildfire (Westerling 2006). CalFire predicts that these impacts will become more severe in coming years (CalFire 2003), leading to a “perfect fire storm” where increasing numbers of people and homes will be at greater risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Taxpayers are subsidizing unsafe growth

Costs of fire prevention have increased exponentially in recent years as state and federal firefighters spend more time and money protecting new homes in wildland areas. The vast majority of these costs are shouldered not by the affected homeowners, but by state and federal taxpayers. A recent federal audit found that the US Forest Service is spending up to $1 billion annually to protect private homes adjacent to national forest land (USDA Office of Inspector General, 2006). CalFire’s fire protection expenditures increased an average of 10% per year between 1994 and 2004, and much of that increased cost was due to increasing numbers of homes in wildland areas (California Legislative Analyst’s Office, 2005).

Current policy is failing at-risk communities

Our current policy framework doesn’t do enough to minimize risks to lives, assets, watersheds, wildlife and ecosystem health. In most parts of the Sierra, land use planning in wildfire areas focuses on site specific requirements such as clearing defensible space and building with fire-retardant materials. Site specific building policies are important, but fire-safe planning must look at the bigger picture: planning the neighborhood and the community.

“Fire-smart growth” can save lives and money

Development in high fire threat areas of the Sierra is inherently dangerous. However, community design can play a large role in minimizing exposure and reducing losses. Infill and clustered development, aka “fire-smart growth,” has numerous advantages over low-density ranchette development when it comes to fire safety. These factors should be considered by counties, cities and developers when planning for new development in the Sierra.

Principles for planning fire-safe communities

This report recommends that planning in high fire threat areas should adhere to five fire-safe planning principles. Implementation measures for each of these five principles are explored in chapter six of this report.

1. Make new development pay its own way: Landowners contemplating development in high fire threat areas should be required to pay the full cost for fire protection.

2. Cluster development in and around existing communities: Local governments should encourage infill development and concentric outward growth while discouraging low-density sprawl and leapfrog development in high fire hazard areas.

3. Don’t build in unsafe places: Even within an area of high fire hazard, some places are more dangerous than others. New development should be curtailed in places that will put new or existing residents at greater risk.

4. Manage the forested landscape to restore resiliency and reduce fire risk: State, federal and local agencies should support responsible forest management practices that restore forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic crown fire in the WUI.

5. Improve planning and budgeting processes to fully address risks: All levels of government involved in wildland fire prevention and protection need to improve planning and budgeting to prepare for coordinated wildfire prevention and response.
Conclusion: Better planning is the key

The threat of catastrophic wildfire in Sierra communities has increased dramatically in recent years, and will only get worse unless local, state and federal agencies, in partnership with Sierra residents, NGOs and community groups, work together to address the underlying issues of poor planning and unfair subsidies that encourage irresponsible development.

We can build thriving communities that are safer and sustainable, by making an upfront investment in good planning that will save lives and money in the long run. Or we can continue with business as usual, and deal with the consequences every fire season to come. The choice is ours.

References

Westerling, AL, HG Hidalgo, DR Cayan and TW Swetnam. 2006. Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western US Forest Wildfire Activity. Science 313: 940-943

Barbour, M, B Pavlik, F Drysdale and S Lindstrom. 1993. California’s Changing Landscapes. Sacramento, Ca: California Native Plant Society, p.100-106.

Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project, 1996. Status of the Sierra Nevada: Summary of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project Report. Wildland Resources Center Report No. 39, University of California, Davis, p.15.

USDA Office of Inspector General, Western Region. 2006. Audit Report: Forest Service Large Fire Suppression Costs. Report No. 08601-44-SF http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/08601-44-SF.pdf

Autumn Bernstein is the Land Use Coordinator for the Sierra Nevada Alliance
. This article is republished with their permission and is part of a 53 page report, "Dangerous Development: Wildfire and Rural Sprawl in the Sierra Nevada", which is copyrighted by them.