Safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving
Wildfire study shifts more responsibility to homeowners
While federal agencies are faulted in a recent study for not doing enough to reduce the fire hazard in areas where forest and chaparal wildland abuts human-inhabited communities, another study points to the greater importance of the homeowners themselves in reducing fire danger.
The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2002 was supposed to cut annual fire-fighting expenses by, for example, thinning forests, eliminating ladder fuels and creating buffers, according to an Associated Press story that was circulated yesterday. However, federal agencies have fallen short of the Act's goals.
Some scientists are now saying more effort should be made to help homeowners protect their properties themselves.
"With crime, we lock our doors and we get a security system," the story quoted Tania Schoennagel, a fire ecologist at the University of Colorado. "With earthquakes, quake-proof construction is required in earthquake zones. We are not allowed to build in 100-year flood plains. But with wildfire, it's different. We don't lock our homes down to fire."
The story said research at the Forest Service's Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana has found that most homes that burn in wildfires are ignited by falling embers, sometimes from far away, showing that thinning forests and cutting brush on public lands is not enough.
UC Berkeley fire science professor Scott Stephens agreed that more needs to be done on private land.
"No fuel treatment on federal lands adjacent to the WUI (wildland-urban interface) will keep fire out," he was quoted. "Even if we treat those areas, you're still going to have embers and sparks flying."
'Prevention' magazine features ANR expert
An article in the July 2009 issue of Prevention magazine is based on information from UC Davis Cooperative Extension post harvest specialist Marita Cantwell. The magazine, with a national circulation of 3.2 million, doesn't appear to put all its articles in the online version; I couldn't find this one.
The two-page feature, titled "Keep Produce Fresh Longer" and written by Stephanie Breakstone, gives up-to-date advice on preventing fruit and vegetable spoilage with specific information about watermelon, grapes, fresh herbs, tomatoes, berries and leafy greens. Cantwell suggests grapes, fresh herbs and leafy greens be wrapped in paper towels to absorb moisture. Grapes and berries should be washed just before eating.
The article referred readers to a page on its Web site for more information: http://prevention.com/storage, but I couldn't find any information there about fresh fruits and vegetables.
UCCE director Ellie Rilla goes on sabbatical leave
The Marin Independent Journal ran an article in yesterday's paper announcing that the director of UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County, Ellen Rilla, is taking a sabbatical leave beginning June 30 to update her 1997 book "California Agritourism Handbook for Farmers and Ranchers."
According to the story, written by Rob Rogers, she expects to work elsewhere in the University of California Cooperative Extension system after her writing sabbatical ends.
Rilla has served as county director for 21 years, coming to the University from Circuit Rider Productions of Windsor, where she worked on a $1.2 million wetlands restoration project. As UCCE director, she has been dedicated to preserving Marin County agriculture, the article said.
"Agriculture is a lifestyle," Rilla was quoted. "You're living with nature, and you never quite know year to year what will happen. There are good years and bad years, some driven by the market and some by nature itself. I have tremendous admiration for folks who make their living in agriculture, because it's not easy."
Watershed management farm advisor David Lewis will succeed Rilla as county director.
Rilla's 1997 publication to be updated.
Scientists want forests with vim and vigor
An array of scientists are working together to help the U.S. Forest Service determine the best way to ensure the long-term health of California forests. One aspect of the wide-ranging effort - called the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project or SNAMP - is to define a healthy forest. UC Berkeley scientist John Battles is leading a group of researchers who have been extracting core samples from thousands of trees in the Sugar Pine and Nelder Gove areas over the past two years to analyze their health.
A recent public field trip in the experimental area was covered by Sierra Star reporter Jill Coppler. Her article said people are continuing to buy and build homes in the beautiful mountain area. The population is projected to triple by 2040, amplifying the importance of effective fire management.
"This is very much a learning enterprise," Battles was quoted in the story. "We don't have all the answers locked in an ivory tower and we don't rely on a strategy of hope or hoped-for outcomes.
"We're here to analyze what happens to a sweep of elements because we know you can't push on one and have the others not effected."
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California forests have 'cruel beauty'
With the beginning of the summer fire season looming, media are taking note of UC wildfire management expertise.
The High County News published an article last week about preparations in California for "the next burn." Writer Peter Friederici based his story on a new CalFire map that places Portola Valley in a "very high" fire hazard zone. Residents are concerned the designation will cause insurance companies to cancel their coverage or raise rates and that it could also devalue their property.
The concerns seemed to garner little sympathy from Peter Moraga, speaking for an insurance industry group.
"Those people who aren't in the high fire areas shouldn't be subsidizing those in the high-risk areas," he was quoted in the story. "If you choose to live in a higher-risk area, you should be prepared to pay higher rates."
Breathtaking views, fresh mountain air and proximity to natural areas with lush vegetation outweigh the hazards -- until a fire strikes, Friederici wrote. "Many of these places are beautiful," he quoted Moraga, "but it's a cruel beauty."
For the story, the reporter discussed the idea of homeowners staying and defending their property - instead of evacuating when a fire approaches - with the director of the UC Berkeley Fire Center Max Moritz.
He noted that the full name of the philosophy is "Prepare, stay and defend, or leave early." The key, Moritz told the reporter, is making a property as fire-safe as possible, and then deciding early whether to stay or go.