As climate heats, more Carson City homeowners take advantage of Wildland Fuel Reduction program
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Tue, 07/19/2022 - 10:48am
As the west continues to dry and heat due to climate change, more and more homeowners are becoming conscientious about their part in preventing wildfires.
One program that has become very popular in recent years is the Carson City Fire Department’s Wildland Fuels Reduction and Preparedness program.
First established in the summer of 2006, the program has been assisting homeowners within communities known as “wildland urban interface” to prepare for and defending against wildfires.
For those who are located within the interface zones, the Carson City Fire Department, utilizing grants obtained from the Bureau of Land Management, will provide homeowners with a trailer or dumpster at no cost to clear their properties of pine needles, dead grasses, fallen branches, and any other type of potential wildfire fuels, not including construction or manmade materials.
According to Carson City Fire Chief Sean Slamon, homeowners are becoming more proactive after seeing how quickly a wildfire can harm a community.
“With the nearby devastating fires we have experienced the past few years, there seems to be a heightened awareness in the community and that is very good,” said Slamon. “Our trailer and dumpster program for wildland fuel removal are extremely popular and booked several months out.”
Slamon says that, from a community perspective, the advantages of creating defensible space around a residence is twofold.
”First, it significantly improves the odds for your home surviving a wildland fire,” said Slamon. “The second big advantage is if there is defensible space around your property, it can slow down the fires rate of spread and give firefighters a better chance of extinguishing the fire and preventing other properties and acres from being burned.”
There are several programs that Carson City Fire provides that focus on reducing the risks of a disastrous wildland fire:
- 5 Full time and 12 seasonal firefighters who’s primary mission is hazardous fuels reduction in the WUI zones. Last year they hand thinned over 200 acres and mechanically treated more than 70 acres.
- Carson City Fire provides a defensible space inspection program to help homeowners with recommendations to make their home and property fire safe.
- The popular trailer and dumpster program (mentioned above). In 2021, over 300 tons of hazardous vegetation were removed through this program.
- Using sheep to graze on the cheatgrass around Carson City. This program started in 2006 and the sheep graze over 2,000 acres each year.
- Lastly, Carson City Fire is a proud partner with “Living With Fire,” an extension of UNR. Their website livingwithfire.com is a very valuable resource in preventing and preparing for a wildland fire.
To learn more about this program, please click here or see the video below.
