COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PREVENTION PLANNING

Settling in America’s wild-land areas offers citizens the opportunity to enjoy a peaceful and quiet lifestyle in beautiful and natural settings. While rural life offers beauty and serenity, there are serious risks that should not be overlooked. One risk posed to our lifestyle is the phenomenon of wildfires. Wildfires threaten our critical infrastructure, our homes and our lives. We can protect ourselves against this threat through a proactive solution called a Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

BACKGROUND

Above: The Sleeper Lake Fire Aftermath.

Congress has made the protection of communities from wildfire a national priority for more than a decade, starting with the National Fire Plan (2000) and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA, 2003).

Fires can be more costly to suppress in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) – the areas where homes are intermixed with forests and wildlands. Across the majority of states, debris burning is the most frequent human cause of wildfires. These human-caused fires can be prevented and the excessive cost of fire suppression reduced.

One of the most successful tools for addressing these challenges is the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The CWPP enables a community to plan how it will reduce the risk of wildfire. The plan identifies strategic sites and methods for fuel reduction projects across the landscape and jurisdictional boundaries.

Identified as one of the higher risk areas in Chippewa County, Tim McKee, Director for Emergency Management approached the Township Supervisor in crafting a grant application to the State of Michigan for the development of a CWPP in Whitefish Township.

Above: A fighterfighter protecting a structure during the Sleeper Lake Fire.

A grant award of $17,500 to Chippewa County with a match provided by Chippewa County Emergency Services in the amount of $3,250 provides $20,750 for the plan development. A specific budget had been developed and approved by the grant authorizing agency (DNR) for the plan development. The majority of the funds, $12,250 will be devoted to the actual development of the plan through the Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning and Development office, with the remaining funds to used for educational materials, brochures, posters, mailings and advertising, meetings, plan copies, and homeowner inspections.

COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN READING MATERIALS

	A fact sheet outlining the Whitefish Township Wildfire Protection Program.	648(KB)
	Meeting minutes from Community Wildfire Protection Plan Meeting, November 4, 2009	18(KB)
	A supplemental resource guide to Preparing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan: A Handbook for Wildland–Urban Interface Communities, March 2004	3.34(MB)
	Community Wildfire Protection Plan Development Handbook	2.63(MB)