Jun 3, 2016
Fire season is around the corner, and we can help you prepare…
This is one of many homes lost in recent years where the forest meets our living spaces.
Last fire season was epic, to say the least. More than 300 fires burned 50,000-plus acres in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Over 27,000 firefighters battled these blazes. Such numbers make 2015’s fire season the worst since 1926. And we were one windstorm away from a conflagration that would have rivaled 1910’s Big Burn.
If you live outside of Sandpoint city limits, you’re likely surrounded by trees. Most of us live here because we love the forest; we enjoy looking out our window onto a viewscape of cedar, hemlock, pine and fir. North Idaho offers this in spades. However, come fire season, forests become fuel, and it’s scary living inside the tinderbox. So, beyond making a stump farm of one’s acreage, what’s a forest-bound resident to do?
A healthy forest makes for a healthy burn. A healthy burn will likely leave your home safe.
Fuels reduction is the key. Trees must be thinned, concentrating on increasing space between canopies. Down below, ladder fuels (vegetation that allows a fire to climb from the forest floor to the canopy) must be reduced, including branches, brush and young trees. Surface fuels (dead and downed timber and limbs) should be removed as well as they can harbor and build heat during a fire. As an additional safety measure, residents can clear a swath of trees through the forest 5 to 15 feet wide that acts as a fuels break. This gives firefighters an advantage when trying to save homes. Basically, the idea is to manage fuels so that when a fire does come, it acts as a healthy ground fire that cleans up the forest while sparing large trees and structures.
At Sand Creek Tree Service, we’re not just arborists; we’re also wildland firefighters. We know how to keep forests healthy and safe, and we’d rather do that than battle flames at anyone’s doorstep.
In 2006, Tyler’s job on a fire in Alaska was to quickly assess homes that were in the path of the blaze. Defensible homes received a single pink flag on the driveway, alerting firefighters that the effort of saving the structures was worth it. Meanwhile, homes with no fuels reduction received three flags, telling firefighters that trying to save the buildings was too dangerous. Homes were lost that day due to thick fuels.
The lesson is to make sure your home is defensible. And not just your home, but access to your home as well. If you have a long driveway with thick trees, reduce fuels on each side of the road 5 to 20 feet back depending on the fuel types. That means thinning some trees, removing saplings, and limbing up larger trees. Another thing to consider is whether there is enough room to get a fire engine down your driveway and turned around.
Of course, we can’t predict whether the coming fire season will rival the last, but it never hurts to be prepared. Even if the landscape doesn’t ignite this year, it will at some point. Such is the nature of a densely forested environment.
Sand Creek Tree Service can help with all fuels reduction work. We know what a defensible home looks like; and sadly, we’re familiar with properties that don’t stand a chance. Call us today for an assessment of your property.
Also, to stay apprised of fire potential predictions for our region, visit the
National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook page for updates through the summer.
Mar 13, 2015
A long, hot fire season in the Northwest kept our chipper busy…
Our crew – and chipper – worked 14-hour days on Washington’s fires.
It was a scary summer for most of us in the Northwest, with fires surrounding us for much of the season. The Panhandle and Washington State both saw record-breaking fire seasons, and the region was a temporary home to tens of thousands of firefighters for months on end. Sand Creek Tree Service was proud to be among them, devoting time, personnel and equipment to the fire-suppression cause.
In addition to our arborist work in and around Sandpoint, we are on-call with the Forest Service during fire season and can be summoned anywhere in the nation. This year, our equipment made repeated trips to Washington. We operate a water truck that assists in wildland fire suppression, and this year, our chipper joined the mix.
When crews are battling blazes, they often try to corral and contain them by “cutting line.” This involves creating a firebreak by removing vegetation from a perimeter line around the fire. Ideally, when the flames hit the line, they run out of steam; there’s simply nothing left to burn at this line. Such work is effective, but it also leaves a lot of material – brush and branches – on the ground that can contribute to later conflagrations.
This fire season, Sand Creek Tree Service worked 14-hour shifts, for up to 14 days straight, chipping slash pile after slash pile. Our guys’ dreams were filled with chipper knives, branches, and feed wheels for the summer, but it was worth it. They provided an important service to the Northwest’s forests and communities. Not only were the slash piles cleaned up, mitigating fire risk, but important nutrients were returned to the soil in the form of chips. The remaining forest is now healthier for our efforts.
With the onset of fall – cooler temperatures, longer nights, cloudy skies – fire season has finally abated. Our chipper is home. Now is a perfect time for you to think about fire mitigation on your own property – and utilize our services – before the next fire season hits.
To see fire forecast maps for the region and nation, go to the National Interagency Fire Center’s Wildland Fire Potential Outlook Page.
Mar 11, 2015
What is fuels reduction, and how can it save your home this fire season?
The major headline in today’s Bonner County Daily Bee, “Area fire crews already battling wildfires,” is a sobering reminder to regional property owners that it’s never too early in the season to focus on fuels reduction (or forest thinning) and fire preparedness. The article details how local fire districts have been responding to incidents in the region, some caused by out-of-control burn piles and all exacerbated by our lack of snow this winter. With no snow on the ground, fuels (i.e., grasses, brush and trees) dry out faster, even during the winter months when cold air saps the moisture out of everything (think of how your skin feels on cold, dry winter days).
A healthy forest makes for a healthy burn. A healthy burn will likely leave your home safe.
So, what is a land owner to do? How can you protect your home in the face of a potentially disastrous fire season? Fuels reduction is the key. Trees must be thinned, concentrating on increasing space between canopies. Down below, ladder fuels (vegetation that allows a fire to climb from the forest floor to the canopy) must be reduced, including branches, brush and young trees. Surface fuels (dead and downed timber and limbs) should be removed as well as they can harbor and build heat during a fire. As an additional safety measure, residents can clear a swath of trees through the forest 5 to 15 feet wide that acts as a fuels break. This gives firefighters an advantage when trying to save homes. Basically, the idea is to manage fuels so that when a fire does come, it acts as a healthy ground fire that cleans up the forest while sparing large trees and structures.
At Sand Creek Tree Service, we’re not just arborists; we’re also wildland firefighters. We know how to keep forests healthy and safe, and we’d rather do that than battle flames at anyone’s doorstep.
In 2006, Tyler’s job on a fire in Alaska was to quickly assess homes that were in the path of the blaze. Defensible homes received a single pink flag on the driveway, alerting firefighters that the effort of saving the structures was worth it. Meanwhile, homes with no fuels reduction received three flags, telling firefighters that trying to save the buildings was too dangerous. Homes were lost that day due to thick fuels.
The lesson is to make sure your home is defensible. And not just your home, but access to your home as well. If you have a long driveway with thick trees, reduce fuels on each side of the road 5 to 20 feet back depending on the fuel types. That means thinning some trees, removing saplings, and limbing up larger trees. Another thing to consider is whether there is enough room to get a fire engine down your driveway and turned around.
Sand Creek Tree Service can help with all fuels reduction work. We know what a defensible home looks like; and sadly, we’re familiar with properties that don’t stand a chance. Call us today for an assessment of your property.
