HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020.12.16 Wildfire Safety Commission Minutes MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE SAFETY COMMISSION
Wednesday,December 16",2020 11:OOAM to 1:OOPM Zoom
As the December 16th Wildfire Safety Commission(WSC)will be held electronically, any public forum testimony is to
be submitted in writing by members of the public by I OAM the day before the scheduled meeting. Staff will compile all
written testimony into one document and send the document to the Commission members and post the testimony on the
agenda the day before the meeting after I OAM. The written testimony will also be included in the minutes.
Members of the public are welcome to listen or view the Wildfire Safety Commission meeting live. Please contact
katie. ig bblegashland.or.us if you would like to listen to this meeting live.
Meeting protocol via Zoom: raise hand to chime in and Stephen or Katie will facilitate when you can begin speaking
I. CALL TO ORDER
A. Dan Dawson, Stephen Gagne, Doug Kay, Kent Romney, Charisse Sydoriak,Paul Behrhorst, Chris
Chambers, Bruce Moats, Tonya Graham, Katie Gibble
II. INTRODUCTIONS
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. All approved
IV. PUBLIC AND GUEST FORUM
V. ADJUSTMENTS TO AGENDA
A. Stephen: suggests focusing meeting around what WSC can do to motivate community to take action while
still within first six months post-Almeda Fire
1. Kent notes that much work is already being done by working groups to meet this idea
B. Charisse: proposes to present work of the Home Inspection Capacity-Building working group first
1. All approved
VI. CITY COUNCIL CHECK-IN
A. Almeda Fire City Survey
1. City Council discussion is available in November 30'meeting recording
B. Evacuation study coming to City Council near beginning of 2021
C. City Communications staff hiring
1. Finance is restructuring Central Services, and funding for Communications staff may be funded
under this restructuring. Tonya will send update to group.
D. Building Code check-in
1. City Council will be able to look at the building code in March, at the earliest
E. New Fire Chief
1. Council will take this on in New Year.
F. Work Plan and priorities for City Council next year.
1. Strategic planning session may occur to help set priorities. No plan for this is yet set.
VII. OLD BUSINESS
A. Working Group List
1. FAC Expansion/integration(KG,KR, CS, DK)
MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE SAFETY COMMISSION
Wednesday,December 16t'',2020 11:OOAM to 1:OOPM Zoom
a) No progress to report
2. CWPP (CS, PB, KR)
a) What is being done in the Home Inspectar Capacity Building group will feed into CWPP
3. Nuisance Ordinance Expansion(DD, CS, CC, KG)
a) Dan: Requests briefing on nuisance ordinance letters that were sent out by Brian Hendrix
b) Draft of proposed changes sent to Chris and Ralph,not reviewed by them at this time.
(1) After review it will take time by legal to turn language into formal ordinance
4. Home Inspector Capacity Building(KR, CS,PB)
a) Moved to the top of the agenda,before City Council check in.
b) Working group creating a volunteer cadre to perform home assessments.
(1) Documents attached at end of minutes describe program in detail
c) Discussion: "boots on the ground"now(within the 6-month window of Almeda Fire)
(1) Stephen suggests recruiting CERT volunteers to go out and do work/spread the
word about wildfire safety. Suggests expediting home assessments to meet this three-year
window.
(a) Charisse,Kent and Chris describe the challenges and requirements of
training well-qualified home assessors.
(b) Tonya: we should not underestimate the power of disaster amnesia. Is it
possible for us to combine CERT workforce with postcard efforts?
W Bins out in neighborhoods
(ii) Fleet of volunteers to go out and re-provide postcard info
(2) Kent moves that this commission set up a working group to work in tandem with
the risk assessment program to address boots on the ground work to reduce the wildfire
risk to the city of Ashland.
(a) Vote passes
(b) Charisse,Kent, Tonya, Stephen,Katie, Chris
(3) Fire scar from Almeda Fire will be consistent reminder for several years.
(4) Kent: what work have we done to respond to recent fires and get that word out to
the public?
(a) Public relation campaign. Tonya poses the idea to extend the wildfire
preparedness campaign
5. Nursery/Landscaper Education(CS, KG)
a) No progress to report
6. Fire-Safe Business License Program for Landscapers and Contractors (KG, SG)
a) No progress to report
MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE SAFETY COMMISSION
Wednesday,December 16",2020 11:00AM to 1:00PM Zoom
7. New Building Code Adoption advocacy(KG, SG)
a) Previously covered
8. Electric Utility Risk Assessment(SA)
a) Steve Asher not present
B. Farmer's Market(Doug)
1. Moving to ScienceWorlcs, starting March.
C. Homeland Security Grant for evacuation planning (Katie)
1. Working with contractor to get more detailed data to contractor
D. DEQ Grant(Katie)
1. Council approved of the Community Response Plan for Smoke,now it goes to the County for
approval,hopefully before the end of the year.
2. We may be receiving more funds from the DEQ to allow us to purchase more air purifiers.
E. Building code update (Chris)
1. Nothing else to report
F. Real Estate Engagement Program(SG, KG)
1. Three of the four aspects of the program have been implemented.NFPA 2-day course for
inspectors still being delayed due to COVID.
G. Intterra/Wine Program rollout(DD, BM, KG,KR)
1. No update to report
H. Spring Wildfire Preparedness Campaign(KG,KR, CS,DK)
1. This group will begin planning in January 2021
I. Illegal Camping Ignition Sources (KG, CC)
1. Parks is looking into expanding drone ignition detection to greenway.
a) Drone program came in under budget last year,may add another day to flights in the
coming year.
b) Chris may come to commission to help get a motion of support for expanding the drone
program to the Greenway. Decision to expand the program must come before fire season.
c) Chris already has tentative support from Parks Commission.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
A. Consumer product testing(mulch, deck boards, fencing, fire retardant)
1. Stephen and Doug and owner who lost home in fire will be testing different materials to protect
fences next summer. Products will be tested over time for next several years to see how the products
perform with age. Different types of bark mulch will also be tested.
IX. REPORTS AS TIME ALLOWS
A. Forest Lands Commission
MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE SAFETY COMMISSION
Wednesday,December 16',2020 11:OOAM to 1:OOPM Zoom
1. Charisse attended—Marty Mane presented tree mortality findings,noting that Douglas Fir
viability may be in question.
B. Chamber Wildfire Task Force (Katie)
X. NEXT MEETING
A. Wednesday,January 20th,2021 Zoom
XI. ADJOURN
Wildfire Safety Commission Wildfire Risk Assessment Program Working Group(another name change) Commented[C51]:Adopted another name
Document Resulting from the December 15,2020 on-line meeting
Attending:Paul Behrhorst,Chris Chambers,Katie Gibble,Kent Romney,and Charisse Sydoriak
Purpose and Need
The September 8,2020 Almeda Fire showed us how vulnerable Ashland and neighboring communities
are to the disastrous consequences of extreme wildfire.It is imperative that we promptly respond by
investing in multiple components of wildfire mitigation proven to be most effective in motivating and
enabling residents and businesses to prepare for wildfires originating in or entering the City.
In recognition of this need to act,this Wildfire Risk Assessment Program(WRAP)Working Group
worked with Ashland's Wildfire Division to adopt the following high-level near-term programmatic goal:
Ashland's wildfire risk is reduced by 25%citywide by December 31,2023 through a major increase
in community-driven wildfire mitigation activities.
Wildfire risk reduction has many components,one of which is performing property wildfire risk
assessments. Once risks are identified,it is the property owner's responsibility to mitigate those risks.
Securing the means to mitigate identified risks can be challenging for many residents.
In 2018,a citywide curbside residential area risk assessment was completed by Ashland's Wildfire
Division staff.The top 1,100 most-at-risk residential properties in the City were identified to receive
FEMA grant funding to mitigate wildfire risk starting in early 2021 and ending 3 years later.This means
that assistance is available to mitigate between 7-14%of identified wildfire at-risk properties within city
limits by December 31,2023.
There is no equivalent risk reduction initiative for the 6,000+properties not covered by the FEMA grant.
To accomplish the goal of reducing Ashland's wildfire risk by 25%in the next 3 years requires a
significant increase in mitigation activities in addition to those supported by the FEMA grant.
We need to figure out how to inspire and grow risk reduction activities at an unprecedented scale.The
Wildfire Risk Assessment Program proposed in this document only addresses the risk assessment
component of a wildfire mitigation program. A corresponding wildfire risk reduction program
must be stood up simultaneously with a risk assessment program to enable people to do the
wildfire risk reduction work identified in curbside and"home-site"wildfire risk assessments.
WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM GOALS and GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• We recognize that an actively involved community at the grass roots level increases wildfire
mitigation effectiveness.
• We understand that face-to-face,two-way communication has proven to be the most effective means
to promote behavioral changes that are sustainable.
• We recognize that diverse partnerships are key to engaging residents/business owners to do the work.
• We recognize that wildfire risk mitigation is the property owner's responsibility;however,on a case-
by-case basis we may facilitate wildfire mitigation work.
• We are committed to working collaboratively with others to promote initiatives that enable wildfire
risk reduction work to be accomplished when risk assessments are completed.
• We will serve all members of the community regardless of citizen tenure,income,or status.
• We will leverage existing resources and tools to accomplish program objectives.
• We are committed to adopting a risk reduction approach that is sustainable for at least 10 years.
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• We recognize that as environmental and socioeconomic conditions change,we must be open-minded
and flexible in our approach.
recognize that wildfire risk mitigation is dependent on a Critical ass of participation to achieve
success at a meaningful scale(partnerships,neighborhoods,and whole 1an sca es�. Commented[C52]:First rough draft of this guiding
principle. Please consider whether the statement needs
editing and suggest changes.
Wildfire Risk Assessment(WRAP)Program
An important component of the wildfire risk mitigation process is to identify risks on individual
properties.The purpose(aka charter)of the Wildfire Risk Assessment Project proposed is to substantially
increase the capacity of Ashland's Fire&Rescue to provide timely,no-cost property risk assessments
citywide,indefinitely.If we are successful,the WRAP may serve as a model for other municipalities to
consider.
Measurable OBJECTIVES:
• Analyze and summarize(using multiple metrics)residential,business,and institutional property risk
assessment needs citywide to establish scope of work parameters by January 31,2021.
• Develop a framework/plan for a Wildfire Risk Assessment Program(WRAP)by March 31,2021.
• Launch the Wildfire Risk Assessment Program October 31,2021.
• A minimum of 8 volunteers are certified to perform WRAs in Ashland by October 31,2021.
• The number of certified volunteers available to city residents and businesses is maintained at 8 or
more every year beginning in 2022.
• Encourage demand for and enable capacity to conduct 1,000 WRAs per year.(Baseline is 150)
• By September 30,2020,develop the capacity to perform a WRA within 2 weeks of a request and for
the homeowner to receive a report within 2 weeks of the WRA.
• Perform 3,000 WRAs within five years of launching the WRAP.
• Complete curbside risk assessments for non-residential properties by December 202�2. Commented[CS3]:Changed year on 12/15
• Rescore all residential properties assessed in 2018 through curbside risk assessments by January
2023.
• 70%or more of property owners,businesses,and renters are aware of the free WRAP in annual
surveys starting in the year 2023.
• An annual progress/accomplishment report is due 60 days before the Annual Wildfire Safety
Commission Report to City Council.
Working Group Operating Expectations
- This working group will maintain session agendas/minutes to document work.
- We will front load meeting agendas with topics that need Chris and Katie's attention.
- We will strive to limit the front-loaded portions of the meetings to 1 hr or less.
- Working group members understand that meetings may go beyond 1 hr.
- Meeting regularity*no more meetings in 2020. Reconvene on January 4,2021 from 1-3p .
Meet every week at this time until we have completed the WRAP plan.We may not meet on
January 18(MLK day).
New How statements
• Encourage self-directed networks(e.g.,service organizations,community and neighborhood groups,
and NPOs)to(1)recruit their constituents to ask for HSAs,(2)accomplish wildfire mitigation work,
and(3)track constituent's accomplishments.
• Facilitate opportunities for individuals,neighborhoods,and community organizations to get engaged.
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• Consider the CERT program's administrative model,WiRe dataset and scoring system,and other
existing tools to stand up the WRA project.
• Annually measure citizen awareness of the availability of the risk assessment project and free
property assessment through existing city survey instruments
HOW?VHSA Programmatic Requirements: Commented[KG4]:Are we targeting high,very high,and
- Implementation of the WRAP is facilitated by a paid or volunteer coordinator depending on City extreme risk homes?If so,how?
requirements and grant funding. The position is overseen by the City s FAC coordinator and Commented[CSSR4]:VH does not stand for"very high"
supported by the Ashland Wildfire Safety Commission. risk properties.An objective of the project is to ensure
- Volunteer HSAs meet City of Ashland volunteer requirements(e.g.,background checks) timely assessments regardless of tenure,status,or income
- Volunteer HSAs are certified to perform home site assessments through a training and certification of community members. However,you make a good point
process. Specific training requirements TBD but are likely to be those identified by the National Fire because we need to focus on those properties that are at
Protection Association(NFPA)or the National Wildfire Coordinating Group(NWCG�. higher risk rather than those that are not. I think we need
The VHSA program will use existing TN*��-�-� ^�`*�T�nr�MyHome Portal database to identify and
to figure this out in our action plan—strategies and tactics.
.......... --------------------------------------------------------------------------
document home site risks and risk change over time. Commented[KG6]:we will have to dig into specifics of
- A database is developed and maintained to assign and track VHSA activities and report out on annual this training and certification program eventually.Not sure
accomplishments. Database parameters will be defined in the project framework/plan due on March if next meeting or one further down the road would be best,
31,2021. but providing a specific roadmap from volunteering,to
ultimately being able to conduct home assessments,will
- identify ways to advertise the programdevelop schedule of advertisingneed to be mapped out,including in-between steps of
HOW?Opportunities Revealed in today's session: conducting rapid curbside assessments before"moving up"
- Ashland's CERT program has paved the way for our working group to learn about and understand to conducting 1 hour assessments
what is required to stand up a major volunteer-based program. Some of the CERT volunteers fft&Y
have alreadyshown i terest��i FIE, +a�'in also getting trained and certified to become VHSAs. Commented[C5e? Paul asked:How will volunteers
g g access this software?
People have expressed interest in serving as the WRA volunteer coordinator.We will invite her to et ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
- p p g g
involved in the programmatic details after we have solidified our intent and project parameters.She is
welcome to attend our strategic planning meetings when/if she chooses,so we will continue to keep
her on the working group mailing list. Work group sessions are not dependent on her availability at
this stage of project development.
- The FEMA grant that Ashland successfully competed for provides wildfire mitigation funding and
services for approximately I out of 6-7 homes in Ashland.To receive the funds/services,affected
property owners must sign a contract to maintain reduced fuel load on their property ford 20 years.
- OSF has access to laid-off staff who want to do something good for the community. OSF wants to be
involved in helping their folks find ways to contribute to wildfire mitigation in Ashland.
- The Rogue Valley Prevention Cooperative has expressed interest in standing up a regional volunteer-
based home site assessment program. The program we design may serve as a model.
- Local resources that are performing HSAs within the Rogue Basin include Katie and Brian in
Ashland,Tyler A.from the Oregon Dept of Forestry,the Medford Fire Inspector,and Rick
McClintock provides home site assessments for FireWise Communities.
- The SW Colorado FAC Network has a"neighborhood ambassadors'program that has been successful
in primarily rural communities. The program has not been stood-up in a city-based community like
Ashland. We can learn more from Alison Lerch and Becca Samulsky.
- The Coalitions and Collaboratives(COCO)Wildfire Best Practices Course cadre has given Charisse
the names of several persons and organization in the area that we may be able to tap into for ideas,
information,training,and more.
- Katie told us that FireWise community leaders tend to want to stay focused on their community so we
should not expect these leaders to serve as VHSAs outside of their neighborhoods.
- Wildfire Mitigation training leading to certification as an NPFA qualified Home Site Assessment
assessor is available but the training is expensive(cost is$8,500-class size is limited to 40 students
and each student must pay$500).This two -day course covers wildfire science and is designed for
persons with no prior knowledge or experience. There are few instructors and all in-person classes
3
have been cancelled during the COVID pandemic.This class has no certification,but you o get a
certificate of completion.This is the most comprehensive course offering that Katie and Chris are
are of.
, � r,ents second do is certification:
Commented[KG8]:This second certification does not
Certified it fire Mitigation Specialist.The certification as two components a)passing an exam, have a two day course.It's all self-study.
and b)passing a practicum. The cost is$350/person and the certification is good for 3 years,after
which the specialist has to retake the class to get recertified.Students must study covers
building codes. It is not clear how the NFPA courses would be meet our need to train and certify a
cadre of volunteer HSAs in Ashlan Kent has volunteered to take a hard look at the course curricula Commented[KG9]:I would say we do know what the
and get back to the working group to propose a training program for VHSAs. We may be able to training would offer:a unified,nationally recognized
standup a training cadre using local resources. certification standard for the volunteers to meet.
SOME NUMBERS TO THINK J®
Commented[C510]:Thanks Katie for these calculations.
I really helps to have a foundation around which we can
Katie's :currently 6799 homes assessed within build an informed approach to the workload.
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ashland's MyHome Portal.If we want to"refresh"this data every 3 years and we have 8 volunteer
assessors,each volunteer would have to conduct—850 assessments every 3 years,or—283 assessments
every year.At—3 minutes utes er curbside assessment,that's 14 hours of curbside o e assessments each
year per volunteer;I'd double that time to account for walking between homes and talking with
curious/interested homeowners who engage with the volunteer,equaling—28 hours per year.This seems
like a reasonable a i e to expectvolunteer.
Thinking through this,a couple of items to work out:
o How homeowner will record assessment
• check out a City tablet(if that's even an option, y hunch is it isnot)
■ have volunteers use their smart phones and download ArcGIS Collector to collect
data digitally—this would require discussion about using volunteer's phone data
to conduct assessments
o Setting geographic areas that each volunteer is responsible for to eliminate spatial overlap
of where assessments are performed
Katie'si :3000 homes in 4 years(assuming current goal
of 3000 by December 2024)with 8 volunteers.That is 375 1-hour assessments per volunteer over the 4
year period,or home assessments per year per volunteer.That is 94 hours per year(approximately 1
home assessment every 4 days).Once assessment is complete,volunteer must take field notes from
assessment a lace into a digital,formal document and pass on tot e volunteer coordinator and/or
emailing it to the homeowner.I usually spend—30 minutes per homeowner typing this info up and
sending it back to the homeowner.This increases the annual time estimate per volunteer to 141 hrs/year
on e assessments,or 3.5 work s(assuming is r work week).
If we stretch this goal to completing 3000 assessments over 5 years( y December 25),that is 75
assessments/volunteer/year,which will equate to 112.5 hrs/year,or 2.8 work weeks worth of work.
Combining the 1 hour home assessment time estimates with the curbside assessment time,that is a total
of 140.5—169 hours/volunteer/year.
ASHLAND"S WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM(The yellow highlighted test that follows is a
place holder for a broader discussion on whether the WSG wants to develop a coordinated effort that includes coordinated risk
assessments,fuels mitilgation(in developed areas and at the landscape scale),firewise landscaping,etc.in a document titled
4'wildfire risk reduction program.")
4
Wildfire risk reduction is a critical activity that contributes to a"fire adapted community." The National
Wildfire Coordinating Group defines a fire adapted community as: "A human community consisting of
informed and prepared citizens collahoratively planning and taking action to safely coexist with wildland
fire.„
"Fire adapted communities are knowledgeable,engaged communities where actions of residents
and agencies in relation to infrastructure,buildings,landscaping and the surrounding ecosystem
lessen the need for extensive protection actions and enable the communities to safely accept fire
as part of the surrounding landscape.Because every community is unique,the steps and strategies
they take to improve their wildfire resilience will vary from place to place."(Fire Adapted
Communities Network https://fireadapted.org/)
Ashland's Wildfire Division employs a full-time Fire-Adapted Community Coordinator and part-time
staff who perform wildfire risk assessments,among other duties.
More T D...if we elect to draft a document that will cover all risk reduction activities. Unless and until this is determined,we
will only cover the wildfire safety assessment component in the remainder of this paper.
5
SCOPE OF WORK(how is the work going to get done?) (Version 2:Dec 15,2020)
Unassigned Discussion Topics/Notes:
The Rogue Valley Prevention Cooperative has expressed interest in standing up a regional volunteer-
based home site assessment program. The program we design may serve as a model.
The SW Colorado FAC Network has a"neighborhood ambassadors'program that has been successful
in primarily rural communities. The program has not been stood-up in a city-based community like
Ashland. We can learn more from Alison Lerch and Becca Samulsky.
The Coalitions and Collaboratives(COCO)Wildfire Best Practices Course cadre has given Charisse
the names of several persons and organization in the area that we may be able to tap into for ideas,
information,training,and more.
Objective:Launch the Wildfire Risk Assessment Program(WRAP)and,simultaneously--a
Coordinated Wildfire Risk Reduction Program(WRRP)by October 31,2021
A corresponding wildfire risk reduction program must be stood up simultaneously with a risk
assessment program to enable people to do the wildfire risk reduction work identified in
curbside and"home-site"wildfire risk assessments.
Strategic Approach:The Wildfire Safety Commission needs to figure out how to simultaneously stand-up
a coordinated wildfire mitigation program to support community wildfire mitigation activities,
particularly reducing fuels on private,business,and institutional properties with or without additional
funding.
Step 1:Share the WRAP initiative with WSC commissioners on Dec 16,2020;and propose standing up a
parallel working group to focus on creating a coordinated wildfire mitigation program
implementation plan by March 31,2021.
Tactic:Initial emphasis is leveraging existing working group efforts that focus on getting mitigation work
done,such as the real estate engagement program;nuisance ordinance expansion;hazardous
vegetation and combustible Materials disposal day in May;educating landscapers and nurseries
and encouraging the use of the FireWise plantings;adopting updated building codes;and sharing
information and resources for reducing fuels on private and business properties.
Tactic:Leverage the FEMA grant that Ashland successfully competed for provides wildfire mitigation
funding and services for approximately 1 out of 6-7 homes in Ashland.To receive the
funds/services,affected property owners must sign a contract to maintain reduced fuel load on
their property for 20 years.
Situation Assessment for the WRAP Metrics
Objective:Analyze and summarize(using multiple metrics)residential,business,and institutional
property risk assessment needs citywide to establish scope of work parameters by January 31,
2021.
Step 1:Review available metrics(e.g.,WiRe data)strengths and weaknesses to identify gaps and
opportunities
Katie's quick math for CURBSIDE ASSESSMENTS:currently 6799 homes assessed within
Ashland's MyHome Portal.If we want to"refresh"this data every 3 years and we have 8 volunteer
assessors,each volunteer would have to conduct assessments every 3 years,or—283 assessments
every year.At—3 minutes per curbside assessment,that's 14 hours of curbside e assessments each
year per volunteer;I'd double that time to account for walking between homes and talking with
1
curious/interested homeowners who engage with the volunteer,equaling—28 hours per year.This seems
like a reasonable amount of time to expect of a volunteer.
Thinking through this,a couple of items to work out:
o How homeowner will record assessment
• check out a City tablet(if that's even an option, y hunch is it isnot)
■ have volunteers use their smart phones and download ArcGIS Collector to collect
data digitally—this would require discussion about using volunteer's phone data
to conduct assessments
o Setting geographic areas that each volunteer is responsible for to eliminate spatial overlap
of where assessments are performed
ASSESSMENTS:Katie's quick math for ONE HOUR 3000 homes in 4 years(assuming current
of 3000 by December 2 2 )with volunteers.That is 375 1- our assessments per volunteer overt e
year period,or—94 home assessments per year per volunteer.That is 94 hours per year(approximately 1
home assessment every 4 days).Once assessment is complete,volunteer must take field notes from
assessment and place into a digital,formal document and pass on to the volunteer coordinator and/or
emailing it to the homeowner.I usually spend—30 minutes per homeowner typing this info up and
sending it back to the homeowner.This increases the annual time estimate per volunteer to 141 hrs/year
on home assessments,or 3.5 work weeks(assuming a typical 40 hour work week).
If we stretch this goal to completing 3000 assessments over 5 years( y December 2025),that is 75
assessments/volunteer/year,which will equate to 112.5 hrs/year,or 2.8 work weeks worth of work.
Combining the l hour home assessment time estimates with the curbside assessment time,that is a total
of 140.5—169 hours/volunteer/year.
Step 2:Consider Asset Mapping(Fire Learning Network Tool)
Step 3:Other....
Complete a Wildfire Risk Assessment Program Plan
Objective:Develop a framework/plan for the Wildfire Risk Assessment Program(WRAP)program by
March 31,2021
General Expectations:
• Implementation of the WRAP is facilitated by a paid or volunteer coordinator depending on City
requirements and grant funding. The position is overseen by the City's FAC coordinator and
supported by the Ashland Wildfire Safety Commission.
• Consider the CERT program's administrative model,WiRe dataset and scoring system,and other
existing tools to stand up the WRAP.
• Volunteer WRAP assessors meet City of Ashland volunteer requirements(e.g.,background checks)
Step 1:Meet on January 4,2021 and weekly on Monday's for 1-2 hours between 10:30-4:00 until the
WRAP strategic planning process is completed. Deadline is March 31,2021.(We will set up a
regular meeting time after Charisse consults with Kent about his availability).
Step 2:
Step 3:
Create Capacity to Implement the Wildfire Risk Assessment Program
Objective:A minimum of 8 volunteers are certified to perform WRAs in Ashland by October 31,2021.
Objective:The number of certified volunteers available to city residents and businesses is maintained at 8
or more every year beginning in 2022.
2
Discussion Notes:
Volunteer WRAs must be are certified to perform home site assessments through a training and
certification process. Specific training requirements TBD but are likely to be those identified by the
National Fire Protection Association(NFPA)or the National Wildfire Coordinating Group(NWCt-1
G). Commented[KG1]:We will have to dig into specifics of
Ashland's CERT program has paved the way for our working group to learn about and understand this training and certification program eventually.Not sure
what is required to stand up a major volunteer-based program. Some CERT volunteers have already if next meeting or one further down the road would be best,
shown interest in also getting trained and certified to become WRAP assessors. but providing a specific roadmap from volunteering,to
People have expressed interest in serving as the WRAP volunteer coordinator.We will invite all ultimately being able to conduct home assessments,will
need to be mapped out,including in-between steps of
interested persons to get involved in the programmatic details after we have solidified our intent and conducting rapid curbside assessments before"moving up"
project parameters. to conducting 1 hour assessments
Wildfire Mitigation training leading to certification as an NPFA qualified Home Site Assessment
assessor is available but the training is expensive(cost is$8,500—class size is limited to 40 students
and each student must pay$500).This two-day course covers wildfire science and is designed for
persons with no prior knowledge or experience. There are few instructors and all in-person classes
have been cancelled during the COVID pandemic.This class has no certification,but you do get a
certificate of completion.This is the most comprehensive course offering that Katie and Chris are
aware of. A second option is a certification:Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist.The
certification has two components a)passing an exam,and b)passing a practicum. The cost is
$350/person and the certification is good for 3 years,after which the specialist has to retake the class
to get recertified.Students must study building codes. It is not clear how the NFPA courses would
meet our need to train and certify a cadre of volunteer HSAs in Ashland.I Kent has volunteered to Commented[KG2]:I would say we do know what the
take a hard look at the course curricula and get back to the working group to propose a training training would offer:a unified,nationally recognized
program for volunteer home site assessors. We may be able to standup a training cadre using local certification standard for the volunteers to meet.
resources
Katie told us that FireWise community leaders tend to want to stay focused on their community so we
should not expect these leaders to serve as WRAs outside of their neighborhoods.
Step 1:Research the options and agree on qualifications and training/certification requirements for WRA
"personnel"by March 31,2021.
Notes:Kent has spoken to ODF(Southwest Oregon).OSU has a comprehensive educational program to
enable citizens to wildfire mitigation"specialist"in the State of Oregon.See on-line links that
Kent sent out on Dec 15. Kent and Charisse will be meeting with Chris Adlam of OSU on
Thursday to look into the possibility of creating a customized 6-week self study curricula to meet
our needs,and potentially that of other communities in the Rogue Valley.After completing the
course,students can take a test(possibly sponsored by the NFPA)to qualify for or be certified as a
property risk assessor of wildfire mitigation specialist.Katie asked if OSU has the capacity to do
manage the training process so that the City of Ashland doesn't have to.Chris brought up the issue
of liability. Can the OSU training provide legal coverage for the City of Ashland if the State of
Oregon is sponsoring the training/certification?NFPA sets the gold standard for"certification."
Step 2:Develop training materials and find instructors. If necessary,secure funding for training by June
112021
Step 3:Initiate training by....tbd
Step 4:Certify 8 volunteers to do WRAs by October 31,2021
Step 5:Review and refine training requirements after the pilot program has been operational for 6
months.
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Increase Demand for Wildfire Risk Assessments
Objective:Encourage demand for and enable capacity to conduct 1,000 WRAs per year.(Baseline is
150).
Tactic:Facilitate opportunities for individuals,neighborhoods,and community organizations to get
engaged
Tactic:Encourage self-directed networks(e.g.,service organizations,community and neighborhood
groups,and NPOs)to(1)recruit their constituents to ask for HSAs,(2)accomplish wildfire
mitigation work,and(3)track constituent's accomplishments.
Tactic:OSF has access to laid-off staff who want to do something good for the community. OSF wants
to be involved in helping their folks find ways to contribute to wildfire mitigation in Ashland.
Tactic:
Manage Project Personnel and Data
Objective:By September 30,2020,develop the capacity to perform a WRA within 2 weeks of a request
and for the homeowner to receive a report within 2 weeks of the WRA.
Objective:Perform 3,000 WRAs within five years of launching the WRAP.
Objective:Complete curbside risk assessments for non-residential properties by December 2022.
Objective:Rescore all residential properties assessed in 2018 through curbside risk assessments by
January 2023.
Discussion Notes:
Local persons that are performing WRAs within the Rogue Basin include Katie and Brian in Ashland,
Tyler A.from the Oregon Dept of Forestry,and the Medford Fire Inspector.Rick McClintock
provides home site assessments for some FireWise Communities.
Personnel Mana e ment
Step 1:Create a job description for the WRAP coordinator by March 31,2021.
Step 2:Recruit and"hire"the WRAP coordinator by June 1,2021.
Step 3:Create a job description for WRAP volunteers by March 31,2021
Step 4:Recruit and hire WRAP volunteers by June 1,2021
Step 5:Train and certify WRAP volunteers by October 31,2021
Data Mana e ment
Step 1:Develop a database to track volunteer training,certification,and work performed by October 31,
2021.
Step 2:Provide the means to enable WRAP volunteers to access the MyHome Portal database to record
risk assessment data they need and to report findings.
Tactic:The WRAP will use existing MyHome Portal database to identify and document wildfire safety
site risks and risk change over time.
Tactic:A database is developed and maintained to assign and track WRAP activities and report out on
annual accomplishments. Database parameters will be defined in the project framework/plan
due on March 31,2021.
Tactic:
Routinely Evaluate Project Effectiveness
Objective:70%or more of property owners,businesses,and renters are aware of the free WRA program
in annual surveys starting in the year 2023.
Objective:An annual progress/accomplishment report is due 60 days before the Annual Wildfire Safety
Commission Report to City Council.
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Tactic: Identify ways to advertise the project and develop schedule of advertising.
Tactic:Annually measure citizen awareness of the availability of the risk assessment project and free
property assessment through existing city survey instruments.
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