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Managing fire on the wildlands and parks
In the last couple of months steady rainfall has led to the recent blossoming of wildflowers on the hills of the wildlands. Although the drought and fires might seem a distant memory, they are still a harsh reality in Southern California. To remain prepared and educated we need to learn from last year's fires. For eons, fire has played an essential role in maintaining the health and diversity of our local ecosystems. In fact, the natural landscape of The Irvine Ranch and most of Southern California is well-adapted to occasional burning. Fires occurred naturally in this region about every 60-90 years. Unfortunately, mostly due to urbanization, fire frequency in the wildlands has been steadily increasing over the last 50 years. In addition to the obvious threat to human life and property, this new fire cycle can lead to all kinds of long-term, ecological change - in some cases even loss of rare species and entire natural communities. Another impact of too many fires is that ecosystems lose their resiliency - they have a harder time recovering after a fire. Wildfires can be one of the most destructive natural forces. They can lead to loss of human life and catastrophic property damage as we witnessed in October, 2007. While occasionally caused by lightning, most wildfires in Southern California are caused by humans. Whether intentional (arson) or accidental, human-caused wildfires are the most frequent and the most damaging. Nearly all fires in the wildlands of The Irvine Ranch since 1900 have been caused by humans. Tens of millions of dollars were spent containing these fires and hundreds of firefighters put their own lives at risk battling the flames. Fire will always be present in the wildlands, but through a combination of education and prevention we can decrease their frequency, size and intensity, and help these unique ecosystems survive long-term. The Irvine Ranch Conservancy has partnered with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and other organizations to manage habitat and fire on the wildlands in Orange County. By uniting and working together we believe that there are several things that can be done immediately to lower the frequency of wildfires. "The first thing that is needed is fire prevention," says Michael O'Connell, executive director of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. "There are many efforts that can help, including 'hardening' roadways against fire ignition; managing habitats ecologically in a way that minimizes the frequency and extent of fires; becoming more vigilant about keeping fires from starting in wildlands, and spotting fires as early as possible." The Conservancy, together with OCFA and the Santiago Canyon and Laguna Coast Fire Safe Councils, have developed a Fire Watch Network with the exclusive goal of preventing future fires during peak fire season. This program puts hundreds of volunteers in key locations during Red Flag Alerts when risk of fire is highest. The program will be critical to deter arson-related wildfires and to spot fires as quickly as possible. The goal is to prevent fire and educate the public on ways to prevent accidental fires. Some "hot spot" locations now even have video surveillance to both discourage arsonists and gather evidence. For now, we are out of the woods, but once fire season rolls around again, we must remain vigilant, ready and educated. Some useful links: www.ocfa.org www.lagunacoastfiresafecouncil.org www.firesafecouncil.org www.smokeybear.com www.foresthistory.org www.usfa.dhs.gov www.nifc.gov |