A Report by a Panel of the

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

for the United States Congress and the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior

January 2004

CONTAINING WILDLAND FIRE COSTS:

ENHANCING HAZARD MITIGATION CAPACITY

PANEL

Frank Fairbanks, Chair

Allan V. Burman

Gail Christopher

Patrick J. Kelly

Lyle Laverty

Keith Mulrooney

Paul Posner

Charles Wise

Officers of the Academy

Carl W. Stenberg, III, Chair of the Board

C. Morgan Kinghorn, Jr., President

Valerie Lemmie, Vice Chair

Jonathan D. Breul, Secretary

Howard M. Messner, Treasurer

Project Staff

J. William Gadsby, Responsible Staff Officer

Bruce D. McDowell, Project Director

Ruth Ann Heck, Senior Consultant

Kathleen Hemenway, Senior Consultant

Charles V. Hulick, Senior Consultant

John Maupin, Senior Consultant

W. Patrick Nobles, Senior Consultant

Peter Ribble, Senior Consultant

Katherine M. White Turner, Consultant

Joseph P. Mitchell III, Research Associate

Jennifer Hardgrove Blevins, Research Assistant

June Psaltis, Intern

Natalia Shakirova, Intern

Martha S. Ditmeyer, Project Associate

The views expressed in this document are those of the Panel.

They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Academy as an institution.

National Academy of Public Administration

1100 New York Avenue, N.W.

Suite 1090 East

Washington, DC 20005

http://www.napawash.org/

First published January 2004

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 1-57744-101-X

Academy Project Number: 1951-004

FOREWORD

When Congress and the federal land management agencies asked the Academy to examine six large fires in 2002, we found that the best opportunity to protect the nation from catastrophic wildfire damage and loss of life was to reduce wildfire hazards before the fires ignite. When we examined the nation’s readiness for hazard reduction, however, we found this capacity to be least developed. Most places we visited and studied had much lower levels of preparedness for hazard reduction than for wildfire suppression. Hazard reduction simply has not received the serious attention it requires. The extraordinary California wildfires raging in Fall 2003 reminded everyone of the importance and urgency of this work.

In this report, the Academy Panel directing this study focuses on increasing the capacity of state-wide and community-wide partnerships to strengthen, facilitate, and coordinate the activities of the many implementation organizations that have the responsibilities and powers to reduce wildfire hazards on wildlands and in communities. The number of these organizations is huge, and their roles are exceptionably diverse.

Engaging these federal, state, local, tribal, and non-governmental organizations to effectively partner for this mammoth task is a significant challenge. The federal land management agencies, nation’s governors, National Association of Counties, Intertribal Timber Council, and others have begun to do this with the collaboratively developed 10-Year Strategy. Some states and communities also have begun to organize for this effort. Yet our fieldwork showed that most places have a long way to go before their wildfire hazard reduction efforts will be as effective as needed. In this report, the Panel recommends how stronger cross-boundary partnerships can be brought to bear on this critical need.

This report is the sixth in a series of wildfire reports prepared between August 2000 and January 2004. The previous reports made findings and recommendations aimed at improving wildfire risk assessments, interagency coordination, containment of wildfire suppression costs, efficiency in contracting for equipment and services, and making fuller utilization of local firefighting forces to suppress large multi-agency wildfires.

The Academy is pleased to provide this report to the Congress, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Forest Service. We thank the federal agencies for their support of the study and their cooperation in preparing it. We also are grateful to the wide range of state, local, and tribal officials and others involved in our fieldwork and nationwide comment process. The Panel and project staff are to be commended for their outstanding job in developing the innovative partnership strategies being recommended here.

C. Morgan Kinghorn, Jr.

President

National Academy of Public Administration

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD.............................................................................................................................. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................. v

ACRONYMS.............................................................................................................................. ix

PANEL REPORT

PANEL MESSAGE........................................................................................................................ 3

RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................................. 8

EPILOGUE................................................................................................................................... 16

REPORT IN BRIEF

REPORT IN BRIEF ................................................................................................................. B-1

BACKGROUND REPORT

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 21

Origin of the Study..................................................................................................................... 21

Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Incentive Program............................................................................. 21

Sound Policy Context for Wildfire Mitigation Established............................................................ 22

Progress is Being Made....................................................................................................... 23

Methodology............................................................................................................................. 26

Scope of the Background Chapters............................................................................................ 27

CHAPTER 2: MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF WILDFIRE

HAZARD MITIGATION...................................................................................................... 29

Reducing Risk in Wildlands........................................................................................................ 30

..... Fuels Treatments................................................................................................................. 32

..... Interim Strategies................................................................................................................. 34

Reducing Risk in Communities................................................................................................... 35

..... Mitigation Activities............................................................................................................. 36

Performance Measures.............................................................................................................. 37

Financial Aid Programs.............................................................................................................. 39

..... Assistance to Fire Departments............................................................................................ 39

..... Community Assistance......................................................................................................... 41

..... FEMA’s Mitigation Programs.............................................................................................. 41

..... Other Programs................................................................................................................... 42

..... Biomass Utilization Funding.................................................................................................. 43

..... Possible Future Programs.................................................................................................... 44

Barriers to Success.................................................................................................................... 46

..... Workshop Concerns........................................................................................................... 46

..... Partnership Capacity Study.................................................................................................. 48

..... Challenges Associated with Federal-Aid Programs............................................................... 49

Chapter 3: MOBILIZING RESOURCES FOR WILDFIRE

HAZARD MITIGATION...................................................................................................... 51

The Geography of Landscape-Scale Mitigation.......................................................................... 52

Convening and Supporting Wildfire Partnerships......................................................................... 56

..... Collaborative Skills Required............................................................................................... 58

..... Workshop Advice............................................................................................................... 61

Science-Based Mitigation Strategy Supports Local Goals........................................................... 61

..... Risk and Vulnerability Assessment....................................................................................... 61

..... Mitigation Strategy............................................................................................................... 63

..... Performance Goals and Targets........................................................................................... 63

..... Current Capacity for Assessments and Strategies is Limited.................................................. 64

..... Political Will is Critical......................................................................................................... 67

Prioritized Work Programs Implement Strategy.......................................................................... 67

Performance Measurement Guides Strategy Revisions................................................................ 71

..... Measuring Performance on a National Level......................................................................... 71

..... Measuring State and Local Performance.............................................................................. 74

Opportunities to Build State and Local Capacity......................................................................... 74

..... Possible Funding Sources.................................................................................................... 75

..... Possible Administrative Improvements.................................................................................. 75

Development of One-Stop Websites.................................................................................... 77

..... Possible Legislative Changes................................................................................................ 79

Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 80

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Panel and Staff Listing........................................................................................... 85

Appendix B: Individuals Interviewed or Contacted.................................................................... 89

Appendix C: Highlights of Regional Workshops on Wildfire Hazard Mitigation and

..... Local Firefighting Capacity....................................................................................................... 105

Appendix D: Guide to Federal Aid for Wildfire Mitigation........................................................ 121

Appendix E: Wildfire Mitigation Assistance: Regional and State Grant Websites....................... 133

Appendix F: Western States Processes for Implementing the National Fire Plan

and the 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy................................................................................ 143

Boxes, tables and figures

Table 1-1. Goals and Implementation Tasks Established by the 10-Year Comprehensive

Strategy Implementation Plan................................................................................................. 24

Table 2-1. Comparing Hazard Reduction in Wildlands and Communities......................................... 30

Table 2-2. Historical Fire Regimes by Condition Class—Nationally; All Cover Types..................... 31

Box 2-1. Biomass Utilization: The Market Aggregation Task........................................................... 33

Table 2-3. Opportunities Matrix..................................................................................................... 40

Box 2-2. New Mexico Company Combines Federal Funds to Utilize Biomass................................ 44

Box 3-1. Mobilization Capacity Model........................................................................................... 52

Box 3-2. California’s Organizational Structure for Wildfire Risk Mitigation....................................... 57

Box 3-3. Six Principles of Effective Consultation............................................................................. 58

Box 3-4. Principles for Federal Managers of Community-Based Programs...................................... 59

Box 3-5. Key Components for Successful Project Impact Communities.......................................... 60

Box 3-6. FEMA Requirements for State and Local Mitigation Plans................................................ 62

Box 3-7. Ruidoso Maps and Manages Fuel Reduction Treatments.................................................. 68

Table 3-1. Illustrative Multi-Party Projects: Placer County Fire Safe Alliance.................................. 70

Box 3-8. Forest Service Hits Barriers Working on Private Lands.................................................... 71

Table 3-2. Goals and Performance Measures Established in the 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan................................................................................................................................................. 76

Figure 3-1. CPLFA Federal-Aid Process...................................................................................... 79