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Alpine County Wildfire Risk Mitigation Plan Information Sheet SUMMARY & OBJECTIVES Alpine County is preparing a Wildfire Risk Mitigation Plan (WRMP) to reduce wildfire risk throughout the County. The WRMP is a County-wide effort that encompasses all communities within Alpine County. The goal of the WRMP is to reduce wildfire risks and protect important resources throughout the County. It will enable the County to implement activities that address the risk of wildfire and that can reduce wildfires that could impact communities. The WRMP will be prepared by: Identifying the important resources and assets within the County, Identifying the high fire hazard areas using modeling techniques, and Defining and prioritizing projects to implement that will protect the most at-risk resources. WILDFIRE DEFINITIONS Hazard: A process, a phenomenon or a human activity that may cause loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption, or environmental degradation. Wildfire hazard: Computed as potential fire behavior or fuel physical and chemical properties. Wildfire risk: The likelihood of wildfire occurring, associated fire behavior, and impacts of the fire. Risk mitigation: Risk mitigation is achieved when any of the wildfire risk parameters (likelihood, behavior and/or impacts) are reduced. For more information, please visit: http://www.alpinecountyca.gov/index.aspx?NID=504 Submit any questions or comments on the WRMP to: [EMAIL REDACTED] The WRMP will identify three priority fuel treatment projects based on the level of fire hazard and the risk to important resources within the County (see types of fuel treatment methods on the other side of this page). For each project, a general fuel treatment and an initial set of mechanical or pre- scribed fire treatments will be defined. ---PAGE BREAK--- NEXT STEPS The County will incorporate public and stakeholder feedback and use the results of the risk analysis assessment to identify the priority fuel treatment projects. A follow-up workshop will be held in April to present the results. Alpine County Wildfire Risk Mitigation Plan Information Sheet ASSETS & WILDFIRE RISK MODELING The County identified important resources, environmental concerns, and High Valued Resources and Assets (HVRAs) to protect in the WRMP. The County used data from LANDFIRE and the fire modeling tool FLAMMAP to model fire hazards, and then mapped the proximity of high fire hazard areas to important resources. The relative risk to any residents, infrastructure, or other assets within the County will be determined by combining outputs from the fire modeling and the economic and ecological values of each identified at-risk asset. The results of this risk assessment will help determine the priority projects that will be defined in the WRMP and possibly implemented. FUEL TREATMENT METHODS MECHANICAL Used for larger scale vegetation removal projects and maintenance tasks Requires heavy machinery Only used in areas with a slope up to 35% Two Main Types: Mechanical thinning/ whole-tree harvest Mastication HAND THINNING Used for thinning stands of small- diameter trees and shrubs Can be used in areas with up to 80% slope Requires hand tools Powered: chainsaws and brush cutters Non-powered: loppers, hand saws PRESCRIBED BURN Burning of ladder fuels in a predetermined area under the supervision of trained fire personnel CURRENT PLANNING EFFORTS Fuel reduction projects to reduce the risk of wildfire are a high priority in Alpine County and the WRMP will build off of established projects and plans in the County. Several fuel reduction projects have been undertaken or are ongoing throughout the County, including neighborhood fire breaks and larger scale fuels reduction projects on federal lands. Alpine Biomass Collaborative, U.S. Forest Service, and other organizations currently implement fuel reduction projects in Alpine County.