Thursday November 14

10:30 – 11:30 AM

TH01 The Survivable Space Initiative:  Giving Knowledge, Building Trust
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Tim Weaver, Lieutenant, Rapid City, South Dakota Fire Department
Description: Mitigation plans have historically been utilized to create defensible properties, when they are actually intended to create survivable properties. This presentation will provide why the Rapid City, South Dakota program became so successful and how Rapid City went from 27 fuel reduction assessments over a 10-year span to averaging 20 assessments per month with a 70% participation rate, and how our approach can work in your community.

TH02 The Total Cost of Wildfires: Implications for Taxpayers and Policymakers
Track: Technology, Policy and Regulations
Presenter(s): Robert W. Gray, R.W. Gray Consulting, Ltd.; Molly Mowery, NFPA Wildland Fire Operations Division
Description: Year-end reports suggest that the 2012 wildfires will have cost the nation over $1.4 billion to suppress. However, that is not the total cost. Wildfires have far-reaching economic consequences that are felt for years afterward. A recent study reveals large fires have actually cost from two to 32 times the reported suppression costs. Taxpayers and policymakers must recognize that economic impacts go beyond suppression and property damage. We typically don’t consider these impacts in disaster planning; if we did, policymakers could make a better argument for mitigation funding. Taking a holistic community approach, such as with fire adapted communities (FAC), reinforces the emphasis on up front investments to decrease reliance on suppression costs and improve economic and environmental recovery.

TH03 Reaching Middle and High School Students with Wildfire Safety Education
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Cathy Prudhomme, NFPA Wildland Fire Operations Division
Description:  Educators and researchers agree that children are the best messengers for home-based preparedness and have the capability to convince their parents to prepare. Prior to developing a wildland fire program for youth, NFPA staff met with students in communities recently impacted by wildfires to learn the best methods to reach them and their peers with information. The value of their comments has the power to change how future WUI homeowners look at where they live.

TH04 Surviving Wildfire:  Losing Your Home, Rebuilding Your Life
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies 
Presenter(s): Linda Masterson, Author and Researcher
Description: Linda Masterson has survived what so many fear; losing a home to wildfire. She will share critical steps you can take now to reduce risk and be better prepared to deal with the worst. You'll learn how to evaluate your needs and work with your insurance company before and after a loss to make the road to recovery less painful to travel - and make sure you'll have the resources you need to rebuild your life.

TH05 Southern Rockies Regional Fire Science Resource Network
Track: Research (Physical, Social, Ecology & Environmental) 
Presenter(s): Gloria Edwards, Southern Rockies Fire Science Network, Colorado State University
Description: Wildland fire scientists and managers are faced with challenging conditions in the Southern Rocky Mountain region: widespread increase in population and housing, dramatic change and decline in forest health, invasive weeds, combined with drought conditions and abundant forest fuel in an area characterized by shifting winds. Southern Rockies Fire Science Network (SRFSN), one of 14 national consortia, was created in 2010 to enable collaboration between managers, scientists, and communities, promoting application of credible science to on-the-ground fire management projects. SRFSN is user-driven, drawing together divergent research and resource-management cultures with workshops, field trips, webinars, demonstration sites, social media and digital communication. This presentation will review our projects, lessons learned, and outreach plans for Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and South Dakota.

TH06 Georgia Firewise® Site Recognition Pilot Program
Track: Wildfire Planning, Suppression & Operations 
Presenter(s): Terri Jenkins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Eric Mosley, Georgia Forestry Commission; Michelle Schirm, Georgia Forestry Associations
Description: Non-traditional Firewise Sites are continually approaching the Georgia Forestry Commission looking for recognition under the current Firewise Program. Aiming to bridge the gap between Firewise and Fire Adapted Communities, Georgia's Firewise Site Recognition pilot program was created to recognize non-traditional entities such as state parks, fire departments, military bases, and others for their outstanding dedication to Firewise practices. This lecture will summarize the development and growth of this new recognition program and discuss two separate pilot state parks.

TH07 The Use of Geospatial Technologies in Emergency Management
Track: Technology, Policy & Regulations
Presenter(s): Tom Patterson, ESRI
Description:  During any disaster situation, wildfires, floods, tornadoes etc. problems facing emergency are mostly geographic. Where is the fire? How fast is it moving? What are the values at risk? Are there hazards to response personnel? Where are the safety zones and escape routes? The answer to these critical questions can be easily answered using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Case studies depicting the use of GIS during CA wildfire and search and rescue operations will be covered.  Additional incidents such as the 2009 Victoria bushfires and 2011/2013 Queensland floods in Australia will also be used to exemplify the geospatial platform. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Gulf of Mexico will be reviewed as the largest deployment of mobile mapping technology used in a huge area covering the coastlines of five states. Finally the lessons learned to map damage assessment during the tornado impact in Tuscaloosa, AL and Joplin, MO in 2011 will depict how GIS was used for real-time mapping when the existing Emergency Operations Center was destroyed. The bottom line, GIS is an efficient system to provide emergency management officials the information they need to make faster, smarter and better decisions based on dynamic, changing conditions (situational awareness) which in turn provides for personnel safety in the field.

TH08 A Recipe for Successful Firewise® Communities
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Gary Marshall, NFPA Firewise Advisor
Description:  Often you will hear that communities want an incentive to motivate residents to get involved in the Firewise Communities/USA® program. This presentation will provide examples to help motivate citizens, types of grants available, how to find that community “Sparkplug”, and how to motivate without experiencing a recent area wildfire. 

2:00 – 3:00 pm

TH09 Waldo Canyon Fire - Success Stories and Lessons Learned Pre and Post-Fire
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies 
Presenter(s): Christina Randall and Amy Sylvester, Colorado Springs, Colorado Fire Department 
Description The Waldo Canyon Fire was the most devastating wildland fire in Colorado history in terms of property damage. After more than 10 years, the Colorado Springs Wildfire Mitigation program was put to the test. Attendees will learn about the cohesive strategy to address wildfire risk and how it paid off. In addition, attendees will learn about the evacuation phase and the aftermath in dealing with fire code changes in a community still dealing with loss.

TH10 Social Dynamics in Wildfire Risk Mitigation
Track: Research (Physical, Social, Ecology & Environmental) 
Presenter(s): António Patrão, Portuguese Forest Services - ICNF
Description: Following the environmental, economic and social impacts of the 2003 catastrophic forest fires in Portugal, national agencies developed a systematic plan aimed at increase the resilience of the Portuguese territory to forest fires. One of the main challenges facing decision makers as they formulate state and local risk mitigation programs is how to change the behaviors of private property owners regarding risk mitigation measures that involve actions in private property. The study was developed in a small mountain rural community in the District of Coimbra (Center region of Portugal), named Piodão, which have experienced several catastrophic forest fires, (the most recent one in summer of 2005). Overall, results point out to the need to examining new ways to share information about fire planning prevention with communities, while recognizing their needs, values and patterns of behavior and involving them.

TH11 Using Surveys as a Prevention Tool  
Track: Wildfire Planning, Suppression & Operations
Presenter(s): Faith Berry, NFPA Firewise Advisor; Dennis Grubb, Orange County, California Fire Authority
Description: Cowan Heights is very similar to Oakland Hills, California. It is located in a known fire corridor, has narrow streets, steep slopes, heavy vegetation, and limited egress points. The project area consists of 800 single family residences built between 1950 and 2002. Hyperspectral analysis was completed to assess dangerous vegetation both in the community and the surrounding interface area. The information was used to generate the first-of-its-kind interactive web-based program that allowed people to complete a wildfire risk assessment of their home. Varied tactics were used to encourage the public to use the web site and take responsibility in lowering their wildfire risk. In 2012, a survey was developed in partnership with Dr. Sarah McCaffrey to assess the effectiveness of the program and the utilization of the web-based tool with 42% response rate. The second part of the presentation includes a survey completed by Faith Berry for a fire authority utilizing the Unite Nations’ suggestions for developing a paradigm regarding community knowledge of Firewise® principals and the community chipping program.

TH12 Community Wildfire Safety through Regulation
Track: Technology, Policy & Regulations
Presenter(s): Don Elliott, Clarion Associates, Colorado
Description: Over the past three years, the National Fire Protection Association and the Fire Protection Research Foundation have been researching the use of land use regulations to reduce wildfire risk in the WUI. This session will review the results of that research and a new NFPA best practices guide for planners and regulators, Community Wildfire Safety Through Regulation to help disseminate those lessons across the United States. Topics to be covered include nationwide research on the type of regulations in common use, which regulations are most effective, the two key regulations with greatest potential to reduce wildfire risk, strategies for building political support for regulations, and good models for cooperation between local fire, building, and planning personnel. 

TH13 Practice What you Preach: Building a Firewise® Home
Track: Home Construction & Landscape Design
Presenter(s): Hank Blackwell, Wildfire Consultant, NFPA Home Ignition Zone Instructor
Description: This presentation will walk you through the process in building our dream home! During the predevelopment phase and discussions with our builder, we found that we could economically build an ignition-resistant home using current construction codes and applying Firewise® principles and still have the beautiful home we were hoping for.

TH14 Wildfire Matters: Teaching Kids About the Wildland/Urban Interface
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Einar Jensen, South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, Colorado
Description: Community wildfire risk reduction requires cultural changes and cultural changes take time.
Community wildfire risk reduction requires cultural changes and cultural changes do take time. This presentation explains the background and components of this four-part program and provides resources to audience members who wish to build their own programs utilizing state academic standards. This presentation will also cover the value of educating 4th graders about the risks of living in wildland/urban interface communities and how it will empower them to create and reside in wildfire adapted communities when they are adults and the importance of bringing the messages home to their families to initiate conversations and bring about cultural change among adults.

TH15 Inside High Park Fire - Were We Prepared? A Perspective from the Rist Canyon VFD Fire Chief
Track: Wildfire Planning, Suppression & Operations
Presenter(s): Robert Gann, Chief, Rist Canyon, Colorado Volunteer Fire Department
Description:  June 9, 2012 a lightning-sparked fire rolled through the Colorado foothills. Within 72 hours, the fire burned 42,000 acres and forced a 3 week evacuation. 21 days later when High Park was contained, it had burned over 87,000 acres, destroyed 257 homes and taken 1 life. In many ways, High Park was the fire RCVFD and our residents had been preparing for since RCVFD was founded in 1975. In this candid presentation, RCVFD Chief Bob Gann will discuss that pre-planning and preparation and how it worked. What aspects of it were critical and where could we have improved? What lessons can you take back to your community about how to prepare and react when faced with a wildland fire, large or small (they all start small!).

TH16 Introduction to Firewise® Principles  
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Pat Durland, Stone Creek Fire, LLC
Description: This presentation presents serious information in a light-hearted way and provides participants with a general knowledge of homeowner and community protection and wildland fire in wildland/urban interface areas. The presentation components will provide the participants with general knowledge about the history of fire, fire behavior elements, Firewise strategies, being part of the wildfire solution, and things to consider if a wildfire threatens.

TH17 Fires, Floods, Fences and Funding
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Mark Brehl, Flagstaff, Arizona Fire Department 
Description: Recent wildfires have highlighted a new urgency to protect communities from not only the threat of wildfire, but from devastating indirect impacts such as flooding.  These impacts often occur long after the fire is out, continue for years and result in greater social, economic and environmental impacts than the fire itself. While the wildfire threat may exist outside of a community’s jurisdiction, the potentially devastating impacts could be theirs alone. This presentation will focus on the lessons learned by the City of Flagstaff as it successfully sought voter approval to implement an innovative project designed to utilize $10 million of municipal bond funding to help plan, accelerate and implement forest treatments on federal and state lands with high potential for severe wildfire and subsequent flooding.

3:30 – 4:30 pm

TH18 Success in Prevention, Preparedness, and Partnerships in Washington State (3:30 – 5:00 PM)
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Jennifer Hinderman, Skagit Conservation District; Suzanne Wade, Kittitas County Conservation District; Fred Wefer, Skagit County Fire Marshal's Office; Carolyn Kelly, Skagit Conservation District; Al Craney, Skagit Conservation District
Description: Learn how partnerships in prevention and preparedness in Washington resulted in community resilience during the Taylor Bridge Fire. Information will be provided on partnerships that were formed, work that was completed before the fire came through, specifics of the fire, and stories of success resulting from prevention efforts. Attendees can use the state’s success and lessons learned as a framework to help promote fire prevention activities and build resilience within their communities.

TH19 Fortune Favors the Prepared - Community Outreach with Ready, Set, Go! & Firewise® in Eagle County, Colorado
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Eric Lovgren, Eagle County Community Development, Colorado
Description: This session will focus on how local, state, and federal fire managers partnered with private citizens to facilitate a series of well-attended Community Fire Preparedness Workshops in Eagle County, Colorado. Attendees will gain knowledge on how to use the Firewise and Ready, Set, Go! programs to improve the dialogue between homeowners and emergency responders in regards to creating defensible space, preparing the home for fire season, wildfire response and family evacuation planning. Particular attention will be given to the importance and value of having agency and private sector involvement in preparing your community for wildfire.

TH20 What’s Going Right? Finding Firewise® Successes & Making More of Them!
Track: Community Safety Approaches/Strategies
Presenter(s): Michele Steinberg, NFPA Wildland Fire Operations Division
Description: An essential tool of leadership and motivation is to “catch someone doing something right.” This single key principle allows us to achieve better results and allows people their greatest level of hope, inspiration, buy-in and accomplishment. In the world of wildfire safety, we so often focus on disaster, loss and failure. The Firewise Communities/USA® Recognition Program was established to change this paradigm and to focus on “what’s going right” with respect to home and community preparedness for wildland fire. Learn how this change of focus has motivated hundreds of thousands of people all over the U.S. to change their behavior and culture to be “Firewise-friendly,” and to begin to reduce risks to their homes and neighborhoods. Discover principles of motivation and commitment used in Firewise Communities/USA sites to sustain long-term risk reduction activity.

TH21 Identifying Wildfire Risk: Pairing Homeowner and Expert Risk Assessment
Track: Research (Physical, Social, Ecology & Environmental)
Presenter(s): Chris Barth, Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit; Patricia Champ and Travis Warziniack, USFS-Rocky Mountain Research Station; James Meldrum and Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Institute of Behavioral Science
Description: Homeowner risk reduction is one of the central steps in reducing the overall costs of wildfire; however how homeowners evaluate the risk they face is still largely unclear. In this panel, speakers will discuss 1) The West Region Wildfire Council and its multi-county efforts to address wildfire risk in southwest Colorado; 2)  A household survey data that reveals homeowners’ wildfire risk self-evaluations; 3) Comparisons between self-evaluations and objective risk assessments by fire experts; 4) Spatial spill-over effects (do the conditions on neighboring parcels affect homeowners’ decisions?; and 5) How spatial and social relationships contribute to homeowner decisions (do social interactions among neighbors bolster or dampen spill-over effects?)  

TH22 Planning for Wildfire in Parks, Open Spaces and Common Areas 
Track: Research (Physical, Social, Ecology & Environmental)
Presenter(s): Keith Worley, Forestree Development, LLC, Certified Arborist
Description: Urban and suburban greenbelts, parks and open spaces can be a source of wildfire that threatens structures. We will review management practices that can reduce risks to surrounding neighborhoods.  Grass, brush, and forest fuel types will be covered along with mechanical and hand treatment options and costs and how to establish partnerships to reduce risks.

TH23 The National Hazard and Risk Assessment (No-HARM) – What’s Your Vulnerability?
Track: Technology, Policy & Regulations 
Presenter(s): Chris White, Anchor Point Group, Inc., Colorado
Description: This session will cover the basic methodology and finding in the development of the country’s first and only, 50 state wildfire HAZARD and RISK assessment. The methodology integrates the built environment or WUI factors as well as fire behavior and probability of occurrence into the assessment. Lessons learned include the difficulties and solutions of conducting a National assessment vs. a regional or local assessment. We will present National and Utah State data that shows the percentage of the population in the various hazard categories. The overall objective will be to explain and provide examples of how detailed hazard and risk assessment should be included in policy, planning and operations, regardless of the data source. The presentation will be very visual with real-time examples shown.

TH24 Geospatial Assessment of Rural Water Supply Networks
Track: Wildfire Planning, Suppression & Operations
Presenter(s): Jeremy A. Keller
Description: Rural fire districts often rely on static water sources to supply suppression operations. An intensive pre-planning process is required to ensure that a robust, redundant water supply network is available in the fire protection area. This session will demonstrate a GIS-based approach for assessing existing water supply networks and identifying areas of weak coverage based on actual road travel distances and modeled times using ArcGIS Network Analyst. It will also demonstrate a technique to quantify the impact that proposed water source development projects will have on the supply network. Information developed from such assessments can be used to identify areas of weak water supply coverage, support funding requests, and target the use of limited funds to develop water supply sources in the most critical areas.

TH25 Common Denominators of Home Destruction, 2011 Texas Wildfires
Track: Home Construction & Landscape Design
Presenter(s): Justice Jones, Austin, Texas Fire Department
Description: The 2011 Texas Wildfire Season was the worst wildland/urban interface fire season in the States' history. Homes were destroyed in almost every eco-region, but the common denominators of home destruction were a recurring theme. This presentation will cover identifying common denominators of home ignition, understanding the elements of post fire assessments, and leveraging wildfire awareness into wildfire preparedness.