DEADWOOD — “Wildfire is a part of our community,” said Mike Runge of the Deadwood Volunteer Fire Department in his address to the city commission Tuesday. “What we’re trying to do is to be more proactive than reactive with CPAW.”
With wildfires past and potential a definite reality in Deadwood, city officials are enthusiastic about the start of the Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) process, slated to begin in April.
“The purpose of CPAW is to have specialists in wildfires come to Deadwood and better prepare us for when the next wildfire comes to Deadwood,” Runge said. “The purpose is to help us to get a better understanding to better protect our future and current assets. We will meet with these people in April who will help us in developing guidelines to better manage the future developments we’re talking about.”
Deadwood was selected as one of eight new communities from across the country to receive technical assistance this year under this program that helps reduce the impacts from wildfires.
“CPAW includes a group of scientists and environmentalists that will help us to better prepare ourselves in the event of wildfire,” said Runge. “With a population of only 1,200, we do have over 2 million people show up every year in Deadwood. Because of that fact and because we have had wildfires in the past, they felt we would be a good candidate to contribute data on land use planning and risk assessments.”
CPAW works with communities to reduce wildfire risks through improved land use planning and is a program providing communities with professional assistance from planners, foresters, economists, and wildfire risk model era to integrate wildfire mitigation into the development planning process. CPAW communities receive customized services, including: land use planning, risk assessments, capacity building, and research and science.
All services provided through CPAW come at no cost to the community, and the implementation of recommendations are voluntary and under the authority of the city.
Runge presented the various facets of the grant and a timetable for implementation.
“CPAW will provide us with guidance in developing recommended wildfire policies to include in the city’s next comprehensive plan, facilitate an in-person stakeholder meeting to feature a discussion on community wildfire planning challenges and opportunities, and provide a five-page memorandum based on findings from the document review process and stakeholder meeting input to be shared with steering group members for review,” Runge said.
Planned CPAW assistance tasks include: document review through March, which entails review of the city’s current comprehensive plan, drafts of the comprehensive plan update and associated materials, Lawrence County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and Lawrence County Wildfire Hazard Assessment; stakeholder meeting in April with representatives from planning department, fire department, and comprehensive plan committee to facilitate a discussion on community wildfire planning challenges and opportunities; policy memo draft to be completed in April; steering group review of the document in May; and final policy memo drafted in June.
Information gathered at the stakeholder meeting will be used to inform the development of appropriate wildfire policies for the comprehensive plan update.
Land use planning tools, such as landscaping regulations, forest management projects, building codes, watershed management plans, and land preservation tools will help communities determine where to allow development, what types of building materials will help keep people safe, and what infrastructure is needed to safely respond where disasters strike.
CPAW develops recommendations after multiple on-site assessments, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and extensive review of community documents.
Runge said that future Deadwood development areas that have been identified for the CPAW process include: Kevin Costner property, Bueno Vista development, Stage Run Phase II, Pollock Addition, and Deadwood Heights.
“They are going to look at areas of potential threat within the city of Deadwood and help us prepare ourselves for future wildfire,” Runge said. “We’ve done a good job in the past, but this goes above and beyond the Firewise treatments to protect our community and the two million people that come here each year.”
To read all of today's stories, Click here or call 642-2761 to subscribe to our e-edition or home delivery.
http://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/deadwood-moves-forward-with-wildfire-planning-meeting/article_9ebf3636-18ba-11e8-9a52-1b67298fe7bb.htmlBagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Deadwood moves forward with wildfire planning meeting"
Post a Comment