On Thursday, a long-time joint effort between the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service, and The Nature Conservancy to study the direct effects of fuel treatments on the size and severity of wildfires was released. This study was completed in the upper Mokelumne River watershed as an example for the Sierra Nevada region. The study not only shows a direct correlation between fuels treatments and positive changes in fire behavior, but quantifies for the first time, the direct savings attributable to fire prevention work in the forests. Simply, it shows that the cost of completing fuel treatments prior to a fire is more than covered by the avoided losses created by that fire prevention activity.
Loss parameters utilized in the study include lost income potential, the value of structures saved from fire, the costs of fire suppression and post-fire recovery, as well as lost revenue from possible carbon sequestration credits, merchantable timber, and biomass fuels. Interestingly, the study also outlined which entities benefited most through pre-fire fuels management work, and included the state, the federal government, private property owners and insurers thereof, timber owners, and utility companies. Potentially, this shows the appropriateness of broadening the scope of who funds fire prevention activities.
An Executive Summary of the study can be accessed here. The study in its entirety can be accessed here.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Cyndi Hillery at (916) 447-4806 orchillery@rcrcnet.org.