NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
for the
United States Congress and the Departments of Agriculture and the
Interior
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

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
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
ACRONYMS
10-Year Strategy A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment: 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy (2001) AND 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan (2002)
BLM Bureau of Land Management
CBWPP Community Based Wildfire Protection Program
CDF California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
COPWRR Central Oregon Partnerships for Wildfire Risk Reduction
CPLFA Community and Private Lands Fire Assistance
DOI Department of the Interior
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
Fire Policy Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy
FLN Fire Learning Network
FMP Fire Management Plan
FSC Fire Safe Council
GIS Geographic Information System
HMGP Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
JFSP Joint Fire Science Program
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NACo National Association of Counties
NASF National Association of State Foresters
NFP National Fire Plan
NFPA National Fire Protection Association
NFPORS National Fire Plan Operations and Reporting System
NRCS