Flagstaff's wildfire fuels treatments: prescriptions for community involvement and a source of bioenergy

Abstract

Flagstaff, Arizona, is a high elevation urban area in north-central Arizona surrounded by a dense ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa) forest. The annual wildland fire ignitions in and near to the urban area average over 200/year. Over the past 5 years, National Forest and city fire managers in the Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) have developed a system of socially-welcomed fuel reduction treatments to reduce the wildfire threat to the community. These treatments have proven effective in reducing fire hazard, improving probability for successful initial attack on wildfires, maintaining and enhancing vegetative diversity, initiating improvement of overall forest health, and providing a local source of bioenergy. The long-term objective of the program is to facilitate socially acceptable stewardship of forested properties within the WUI. The Flagstaff WUI treatment prescription incorporates not only forestry and fire science, but also community and neighborhood input as vital components in successfully developing, implementing, and maintaining the treatments. Throughout the entire effort, project managers must maintain contact with and gather input from adjacent property owners and the community as a whole. Although current commercial markets are poor, there has been a great deal of success in utilizing bioenergy by designating free-use firewood areas. These events typically draw 200+ people who will remove 362 m 3 of wood in half a day. With over 1000 ha now treated, other benefits and lessons have been noted as well.