When the Cerro Grande Fire swept through Los Alamos, N.M., in May 2000, it forced the evacuation of more than 18,000 residents. By the time the fire was contained, the damage estimates to this small mountainous town were devastating: about 47,000 acres were burned; 112 structures at the Los Alamos National Laboratory were destroyed; and 239 homes were reduced to ashes, displacing 403 families. Thankfully, no lives were lost.

As residents struggled to put their lives back together, fire department and county officials knew steps were required to prepare for the possibility of another wildfire. They knew the damage and destruction caused by the Cerro Grande Fire, which started as a National Park Service prescribed burn, did not eliminate the threat of future wildfires to Los Alamos.

RISK REDUCTION

Even before the fire was completely contained, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution recognizing the federal government's liability for starting the fire. Not long after, the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act was passed by Congress and signed by the president.

On the local level, the Los Alamos County Council approved the Los Alamos County Long-Term Recovery, Redevelopment & Hazard Mitigation Plan on March 13, 2001. The plan was developed, under the guiding principle of the CGFAA for mitigation compensation, to address the long-term recovery and redevelopment needs within the county. One of the 13 mitigation measures listed in the plan was the creation of a mitigation program for owners of unburned property.

The Office of Cerro Grande Fire Claims, under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provided $6.5 million in funding toward that program to reduce the risk of residential destruction and damage from future wildfires. The final project came in under budget at $5.9 million.

During 2003, the Los Alamos County Defensible Space Project, as it was later named, provided vegetation removal and thinning and reduced hazardous materials that could support the spread of fire in close proximity to residences. A continuing lack of precipitation and extreme fire danger levels have made defensible space work a critical part of landscaping in Los Alamos and elsewhere throughout New Mexico and the West.

“We needed to change fundamental forest management policies and implement what we had learned,” says Fire Chief Douglas R. MacDonald. “Those lessons came too late for survivors of the wildfires of 2000. I can only hope it will not be too late for those folks who will experience wildfires in the future.”

PROJECT CRITERIA

The Los Alamos County Council, along with MacDonald and other fire department personnel, the FEMA authorized agent, and officials from the project management contractor P.A. Smith Concepts & Designs, were among those who worked together to determine the county's mission and goals of a defensible space project.

From this information, the team was able to identify the project's criteria for participation while developing an implementation strategy that encouraged and promoted a high level of participation. Specifically, the project was committed to:

• Conducting an extensive public information, education and promotion program to attract high levels of participation.
• Educating and informing property owners, community members and others in the county on the benefits of defensible space around homes, while teaching them the steps they can take to protect their properties.
• Practicing project management to coordinate the work, ensure the project was on schedule and within budget, accomplish the project's mission, and keep the community informed of the project's progress.
• Promoting defensible space planning by contacting each eligible property owner, assessing properties and creating a defensible space plan for each of the more than 2,300 participating properties.
• Conducting mitigation work according to the plan to help protect property and reduce hazards and risks to the community from future wildfires.

On Aug. 13, 2002, MacDonald presented the Los Alamos County Defensible Space Project Plan to the Los Alamos County Council for final approval. MacDonald outlined the mission of the project and the process eligible property owners could expect to undergo. After hearing MacDonald's presentation, the council unanimously approved the plan.

INTERDEPENDENCE

Creating defensible space on properties in Los Alamos was a study in interrelationships, both of vegetation and people.

Typical defensible space guidelines have been developed for properties with an average lot size greater than one acre; therefore, they rely on the approval and cooperation of just one property owner. These guidelines include a zone surrounding a home of at least 30 feet. Most families in Los Alamos live on urban-sized lots — often one-third of an acre or less — that border dense wildland and steep slopes on some sides. Thus, the 30-foot area suggested in most guidelines includes not only the lot in question but also one or more adjacent properties.

Due to the small lot size and location in the wildland-urban interface, the creation of defensible space in Los Alamos required the cooperation of groups of neighboring property owners to provide the best possible solution for each property and the neighborhood as a whole. The project serves as an example to other wildland-urban interface communities with smaller lot sizes because it proves that widespread neighborhood participation and creating a mosaic of defensible space can help improve the survivability of individual homes and the community as a whole.

“Cooperation of neighboring property owners was imperative because defensible space is a community goal,” says George Geissler, the consulting forester for the project.

The project's success depended on very high participation. Since partaking in the project was voluntary for eligible homeowners, 100% involvement was unlikely. However, property owners became much more likely to participate when they were informed and educated about the issues and process required to reach the desired results.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Before a community can mitigate wildfire hazards by creating defensible space, its members must first recognize the hazards, understand the potential danger and consequences of not mitigating these hazards, and realize it's their responsibility to prepare for and protect their home from wildfire, according to MacDonald. They must also recognize that to create the most effective protection against wildfire, they must work in cooperation with their neighbors and share the work and the responsibility.

Public information and education were critical to getting the community involved. With a strong team effort by the Los Alamos County Fire Department, county council, the project management team, contractors, and many other community leaders and supporters, 70% of eligible property owners participated. Due to this outstanding community acceptance and involvement in the program, the project helped reduce the wildfire risk throughout the area, improving firefighters' safety and ability to protect homes from another wildfire while improving the town's chances to survive another devastating event.

“My backyard, leading into Walnut Canyon, had approximately 30 mature ponderosas on a third-acre,” says Donald Neeper, who participated in the project. “For several years, I have routinely removed excess litter from the ground. However, the trees were so large and so closely spaced that I could not do any thinning myself.

“The defensible space crew removed five large trees — rapidly, neatly, professionally. That left my forest with sufficient openings that I could selectively drop other trees myself. I have removed about six additional trees, and I will gradually remove more.… Thanks for the Defensible Space Project. It enabled me to do the continuing job myself.”

ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS

Davey Resource Group, a division of the Ohio-based Davey Tree Expert Co., was hired to implement and promote the concepts of defensible space. DRG, together with the project team, developed a comprehensive outreach program that included a logo, neighborhood informational events, education in the schools and many other elements to promote the value in creating defensible space.

A wildfire risk assessment of the Los Alamos town site determined 2,752 properties needed defensible space work. During the summer of 2003, a risk assessment of the community of White Rock, which is located down the hill from the town site, identified 650 properties as eligible for inclusion in the project. These targeted lots were at high risk for wildfire due to high tree densities, steep slopes and location in the path of high winds that favor the spreading of fire.

Defensible space planners began meeting with targeted homeowners at the beginning of 2003 to perform individual property assessments and create agreeable defensible space work plans. During these one-on-one meetings, the planners answered property owners' questions and addressed any misconceptions or concerns about defensible space.

These meetings were a critical component to the success of the project. Nearly every property owner who received specific, personalized information agreed to have mitigation work done around their homes. While the planners recommended other helpful steps property owners could take, such as making structural changes like installing Class-A roofing, the defensible space plans only included vegetation removal and thinning.

Baca's Trees Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., and Trees Inc. of Houston joined the defensible space team as the contractors charged with completing the mitigation work on private properties.

REDUCED HAZARDS

By the end of 2003, the Los Alamos County Defensible Space Project successfully helped protect more than 2,300 properties in Los Alamos and White Rock from future wildfire threat, and thousands of residents throughout the county were educated about the concepts of defensible space.

Based on criteria of NFPA 1144, Protection of Life and Property from Wildfire, the average wildfire risk assessment point totals for Los Alamos and White Rock were reduced dramatically. Before the project, Los Alamos had an average wildfire risk rating of 105 points, and White Rock's average rating was 81 points. After the defensible space project was completed, Los Alamos' average wildfire risk rating fell to 84 points and White Rock's average dropped to 63 points.

Both communities are limited in how much they can improve their wildfire hazard ratings due to existing conditions that can't be changed easily. For example, the location of a structure, the topography of the area, the fire weather conditions and the aspect are all characteristics that can have a significant impact on the wildfire risk rating but can't be modified.

Assuming the best-case scenario of 100% participation by all eligible property owners creating ideal defensible space around their homes, the lowest possible wildfire hazard rating for Los Alamos is 77 points and 31 points for White Rock. Therefore, the Defensible Space Project successfully reduced the hazard rating for both communities by 50% of the total possible reduction.

Although the planning and implementation phases of the project are now over, property owners throughout Los Alamos County are being encouraged to continue making their properties defensible for firefighters.

To participate in the project, homeowners signed a contract promising to maintain their defensible space for at least five years. Throughout that time frame, they can continue to get information on defensible space, landscaping tips and other related subjects from the project's public information officer and at the project Web site, www.lac-defensiblespace.us. Such information also is being provided to other wildland-urban interface communities throughout New Mexico and the West in an effort to assist them with wildfire preparedness efforts and community education programs.

Susan DiMauro, the Davey Resource Group wildland fire public information specialist, serves as spokeswoman and public information officer for the Los Alamos County Defensible Space project. She has produced public information materials and has organized several community events to help educate Los Alamos residents about the importance of defensible space around their homes in the wildland-urban interface. DiMauro earned her bachelor's degree in news/journalism from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. She previously worked for The Associated Press and two Ohio newspapers.

CONFUSION PLAGUES PROGRAM

The Los Alamos County Defensible Space Project did have a few hindrances officials were not able to overcome. For example, as with any voluntary program, some residents embraced it while others felt it was too intrusive. Misconceptions occurred throughout the program, with the foremost objection centering on the belief that defensible space can't be created without clear-cutting vegetation.

Despite education efforts about the danger of fire fuel loads near or adjacent to homes, some residents were not willing to have live trees or shrubs removed, although many did agree to have them pruned or trimmed away from eaves, fascias and roof lines. Others felt their fire-resistant deciduous trees could be reasonably pruned and trimmed, but these types of trees were not a fire threat and not eligible under the program.

Another factor that coincided with the project was the devastating, widespread bark-beetle infestation that hit northern New Mexico and other areas in the Southwest. Residents with large stands of dead or dying pine trees mistakenly believed these trees were a threat, when in most situations a visit from a defensible space planner showed that many of the trees were far from the house.

Some eligible participants failed to understand the importance of removing more than the infested trees in an effort to improve the defensible space around their homes. While dead trees, especially those still with needles, pose a wildfire risk to homes, live trees often are an equal or greater threat because of the volatile oils and sap that can cause extensive burning and explosive effects.