Volume 57 | May 2019
Welcome to the May 2019 Network Pulse Newsletter. This month's Network Pulse provides an overview of the 5th annual Nevada Network conference and developments from the April Nevada Network Advisory Board meeting.
The Nevada Network and Living With Fire host a successful 5 th annual Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Conference

Chief Doug Cupp provides information on keys to FAC success
The Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities and the Living With Fire program hosted the 5 th annual Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities Conference on April 22 nd at the Atlantis Resort in Reno. A summary report of the conference that highlights survey and key results can be found here .

Communities that achieved community chapter status were recognized at the conference. The new and re-certified chapters for 2018 included: Holbrook Highlands, Alpine View Estates, and Lakeview. The Network Advisory Board also recognized the East Fork Fire Adapted Community Working Group as the Fire Adapted Community of the Year. The East Fork working group brings together community leaders in Douglas County to address wildfire planning, fuel reduction, and partner engagement throughout the Carson Valley.  Their work has been instrumental in the establishment of new Network chapters and initiating the CWPP process in Douglas County .

Coordinator Beaudoin and the Community Leaders from Holbrook Highlands
The Conference featured fire service and fire research professionals from Nevada, California, and Colorado. An electronic copy of the presentation slides can be found here.
Program highlights included Chief David Hawks from CAL FIRE’s Butte Unit. Chief Hawks serves as the Butte County and Butte Unit fire chief. Chief Hawks spoke about the devastating 2018 Camp and how community evacuation planning is a key principle of fire adapted communities.

Yana Valachovic highlights the facets of community and home fire resiliency
Yana Valachovic, County Director and Forestry Advisor for California’s Humboldt and Del Norte counties, spoke about home survival in wildfire-prone areas. She highlighted home design and maintenance principles that can help your home better withstand wildfires. 90% of homes ignite from flying embers. Your home’s roof and vents are the most vulnerable part of your home during a wildfire. Keeping your roof and gutters clear of flammable material and installing 1/8” mesh on your attic vents will reduce the fuel available to flying embers and will help harden your home against wildfires.  

Chief Doug Cupp of the Greater Eagle Fire Protection District presented on the art of being fire adapted. Using Sun Tzu’s principles, Chief Cupp argued that communities must prepare themselves for wildfires by implementing sound strategy such as implementing FAC concepts. Chief Mike Schwartz, North Tahoe Fire Protection District, and Chief Sommers, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, provided attendees with an overview of the bi-state evacuation drill they held in King’s Beach and Incline Village. 

Mike Vollmer provides fuel reduction grant information to community leaders
Mike Vollmer, Nevada Division of Forestry Cooperative Fire and Forestry Supervisor, spoke about financial assistance grants for fuel reduction, wildfire planning, and education. He provided an overview of the Western State Fire Managers grant program and stressed the importance of communities being proactive and engaged with the grant process. More information on NDF’s current grant programs can be found here .

Michael Beaudoin, Coordinator of the Nevada Network, provided an overview of the 2018 Network year. The network accomplishments from 2018 include a new chapter leader handbook, a Nevada-wide CWPP database, facilitating Network chapter events, and wildfire fuel reduction projects in Washoe, Douglas, and Elko counties. 

Update from the April Network Advisory Board Meeting

Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities logo. (Gray State of Nevada shape surrounded by icons of fire adapted community members.)
The Network Advisory Board met on April 22 nd to address several Network business items. The board welcomed Janice Roberts as the new Western Regional Community Representative. Janice will serve in her new role for two years and represents the interests of the Network’s western community chapters. Janice has been an active member of the Holbrook Highlands fire adapted community since the Nevada Fire Safe Council days and works closely with other Douglas County community leaders on the East Fork FAC working group.

Coordinator Beaudoin provided the board with an update on the Network’s accomplishments and the current status of the new Network Strategic Plan. Coordinator Beaudoin’s report to the Advisory Board can be found here . The Advisory Board plans to review the draft Network Strategic Plan and approve it at the July or October 2019 meeting.

Lastly, the Advisory Board held a discussion about the Network Individual Membership fee. The legal authority for NDF to collect a fee has been in question and would require a change in Nevada statue to be approved. The board decided to amend to Network operating manual to state that no membership fee will be assessed to individual or chapter members. 

Fire Adapted Learning Network Provides Wildfire Terminology Dictionary

Photo Courtesy of the FAC Learning Network
If you are unsure what ladder fuels are or what a red card warning means, then the Fire Adapted Learning Network has a great resource for you. The FAC learning network is a nationwide network of Fire Adapted Community practitioners that work together to exchange information, collaborate to enhance the practice of fire adaptation, and help communities before, during, and after wildfires. 

Wildfire terminology you might encounter includes:

Aerial Fuels: All live and dead vegetation in the forest canopy or above surface fuels, including tree branches, twigs, cones, snags, moss, and high brush.

Burning Index: An estimate of the potential difficulty of fire containment as it relates to flame length at the most rapidly spreading portion of a fire’s perimeter.

The FAC learning network publishes informative articles on a weekly basis on their blog. For more wildfire terminology definitions, please visit the FAC learning network article here.

Nevada Division of Forestry| The Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities | MBeaudoin@nv.forestry.gov