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Title:	Douglas County, Oregon -- CWPP for County and 30 Communities at Risk
Type:	Community planning and CWPP's
Jurisdiction:	County
State:	Oregon
Program Description:	Douglas County, Oregon Community Wildfire Protection Plans Background Douglas County is located in southwestern Oregon and includes over 5,000 square miles of land stretching from the Pacific Coast to the Cascade Mountains. Over 50% of the land in Douglas County is owned by the federal government and managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. It contains almost 2.8 million acres of commercial forest land. These forest lands are at high risk of wildfire, with some significant fires occurring in the past few years, including the Tiller Complex Fire, which burned 68,8862 acres, and the Apple Fire, which burned 17,600 acres in 2002. In 2004 and 2005 the Douglas County Board of Commissioners directed the County Planning Department to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans for its at-risk communities. The resulting Community Wildfire Protection Plans, which include an overall plan for the county and 30 smaller plans for each of the 30 identified at-risk communities, provides a model of how a large county with multiple at-risk communities can structure a cohesive plan. By developing the plans, Douglas County will be better able to implement fuels reduction programs, will raise awareness of fire hazard risk, will educate the public as to what they can do to protect themselves and their homes. The plans will also help Douglas County compete for federal funding programs such as the Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, the National Fire Plan, and FEMA�s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. CWPP Planning: Phases One and Two Phase One of the CWPP Plan was the adoption of CWPP plans for 14 communities at risk (CARs). These plans were adopted on September 22, 2004. Phase Two included 10 more Communities-at-risk, and 6 communities in the Umpqua National Forest. Phase Two CWPP�s were adopted on January 18, 2006. All 30 plans can be viewed on the web at: http://www.co.douglas.or.us/planning/wildfire_plans/default.asp, the Douglas County CWPP website. Developing the Plans Collaboration The CWPP�s were developed according to Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) guidelines. A Core Team was assembled including wildfire specialists from the Douglas Forest Protective Association, The Roseburg Office of the Bureau of Land Management, the Umpqua National Forest, Douglas County Sheriff, Office of Emergency Management, and the Douglas County Planning Department. The Core Team identified fuel reduction areas for each community, prioritized fuel reduction strategies and developed solutions to reduce wildfire hazard risk around each of the communities. The CWPPs were presented to the public through the Douglas County Planning Department�s Planning Advisory Committees (PACs). PAC meetings were announced in the local newspaper. There are nine PACs in Douglas County with communities-at-risk contained in five PACs. Identify and Prioritize Fuel Reduction Areas and Treatments Each of the communities at risk identified areas for fuel reduction treatment based on the risk assessment which considered the community's boundary, evacuation routes and unique topographic and physical factors. Specific methods of fuel reduction activities were discussed for the prioriy fuel reduction areas in each community. Treatment of Structural Ignitability Action items for reducing structure ignitability in each CAR include: Educate homeowners to develop defensible space around their homes and replace flammable building materials with less flammable materials; Seek assistance for homeowners to replace flammable building materials and reduce hazardous vegetation adjacent to homes; Promote existing education and outreach programs such as Firewise, and develop community education programs; Train volunteer firefighters to assist paid firefighters. Contact Information For more information contact Chuck Perino, Planner 2 via email at [email protected], or by phone at 541-440-4289. Douglas County Planning Department Room 106 Justice Building, Douglas County Courthouse Roseburg, OR 97470
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