Most Communities Woefully Unprepared for Upcoming Wildfire Season
The time to prepare is now but most fire-vulnerable communities and residents are failing to take even the most basic preventative measures.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Neal K. Brown (435) 689-1425 nkbrown@wildmountainfire.com
Most Communities Woefully Unprepared for Upcoming Wildfire Season
The time to prepare is now but most fire-vulnerable communities and residents are failing to take even the most basic preventative measures.
When it comes to managing wildfires and the ensuing flooding and mudding in California, and other western Communities, it may be best to quote Marvin Gaye in by asking "What's Going On?!" Why? Because all of the preventative programs have been in place for several years now but aren't being implemented.
California is often used as a predictor for what will ensue in her eastern sister states. Too many Californians have simply resigned themselves that the four prices they must pay to live in the state are inevitable earthquakes, fires and, ensuing floods and mudslides. But it's number four that really hits home. Skyrocketing homeowners insurance for those who can still get it.
Aside from some new seismic relay systems which may afford us a fifteen-minute quake warning, there isn't much else that can be done there. But for the fires and mudslides, not only is there so much that can be done, the programs are already in place and available to take action that could make all the difference in the world between devastation and safer coexistence. The problem there: Most residents and communities have no clue about how to access those resources.
" We're seeing catastrophe after catastrophe with eleven millions acres burned in the U.S just in the past two years alone," According to Neal K. Brown, Vice President of Wild Mountain Fire and Forestry, a comprehensive fire and fuels management and mitigation organization. "Lawmakers and forestry managers have ended up with mud in their face and, in your backyard. And if it's not mud, it's fire.”
Yet LA burns, floods and muds even though there are specific programs in place to manage the problems. "Everyone needs to know their rights and responsibilities as pertains to the HFRA (Healthy Forest Restoration Act) and BAER (Burned Area Emergency Recovery" According to Brown, these two comprehensive programs could readily mitigate so much of the fickled fire finger of fate for hundreds of thousands of at-risk properties in California. "There is an extensive program for simple re-seeding which could prevent substantial flooding, there is also a provision for removal of highly volatile waste timber (biomass), the list goes one and each element could make the difference between a new catastrophe or a very manageable situation."
Out By Ten
While Brown is well-aware that 'alarmist' politics never work, "I wish they did because the truth is, we are seeing exponential increases in explosive wildfires and when you add the famous Santa Anna's, you are approaching a damage result akin to a small atomic bomb."
So what went wrong and why are there so many fires? According to Brown, the problem goes far past the neglect of the past year, to about 100 years past. Back then, the National Forestry Service enacted a regrettable policy to try to extinguish every natural fire by 10:00 the next morning. As a result, severe overgrowth ensued, dramatically increasing the fuel loads coupled with tree-borne diseases, and climate change " we are now in a time of crisis that could equal the potential devastation of external terrorism. We really have to wake up to this and take action now before it's just going to too late. This isn't just going to go away.”
The usual M.O. of most Californians is to simply roll the dice and just hope they can keep it all as distant as a CNN special newsbreak. In reality, there are measures that virtually every citizen must take. “No one can sit on the sidelines anymore. Just ask those who lost everything over the past two years if they ever expected it to happen to them.”
The first step, according to Brown is to ensure that your own backyard and general property are firesafe “but even that's not enough if your neighbors haven't acted to ensure that their property is firesafe.”Brown encourages every fire-vulnerable resident to become actively involved with their local governing body to ensure that a workable community firewise mitigation and management plan are in place and that every citizen is aware of their obligations and responsibilities. Brown's non-profit educational foundation provides free educational support materials.
The problem is not the availability of excellent support programs, resources and personnel. “It’s communication and general public awareness,” says Brown whose organization often provides the missing link between the desire to make a community more fire safe and, the ways and means to engage those parties and programs to make it happen. "There are so many simple steps and programs available to the vulnerable property or business owner, the problem is clear communication about which program would work best for them.” Neal's education foundation provides free advice about the various missing links and his non-profit educational foundation provides additional support services to those in greatest need.
Aside from fire on the horizon, there is some very hopeful news. Brown's group of uniquely talented fire mitigation experts assess, design and implement a vast array of systems to reduce the kind of viral fires California's been suffering through, over the past two decades especially. Their Rapid Response teams can accurately assess residential, industrial or commercial properties, park lands or any wildlands in a very short time-span and can either implement the corrective steps themselves or, oversee any existing labor force. “The ultimate fire-break is going to be the willingness and initiative of the private citizen who picks up the phone or begins hammering away on emails to press their community into action now because in just a few short months, all the public will be able to do is hope it doesn’t happen to them. And we can do much more than that.”
Brown sees the next three months as critical not just for allowing sufficient time to deal with the coming fire season but for averting a major a disaster of "critical-mass proportion" If you're reading this and, are able to admit that you're relying more on luck than a tangible firesafe action plan, call our company and speak to a real and experienced fire mitigation planner. Let us help you to help your community.
If you don’t know where to begin and whether you’re a private citizen or part of a major industrial complex, Wild Mountain Fire and Forestry urges you to call them free of charge to help get pointed in the right direction. “We lost 8 million acres through fire alone last year and it’s just going to continue until the public starts demanding that the existing programs become completely implemented in their neighborhood. It bears repeating, the ultimate firebreak that will save California are its people."
Anyone wanting to reduce their chances of either seeing their property go up in flames or, floating away, is urged to call their 'Fireline' at (435) 644-3526 or visit their website at www.wildmountainfire.com. Any citizen or government official is urged to call free of charge and, will be directed to their educational foundation to help them get started with their community firewise plan.
About the Author
Neal Brown is one of the country's leading authorities on wildlands management and wildfire reduction. He is constantly in demand both in the field and, as a media spokesperson.
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