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The fire next time Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Ashland has completed a set of firefighting plans and maps to help firefighters stop a fire in the city's forested fringes before it becomes an unstoppable conflagration. Ashland maps out a safety strategy to confront its precarious position By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND - Residents here can find some comfort in a fully developed firefighting plan for the town's forested edge. "The city pulls out the (firefighting) map and says 'here's your opportunity,' rather than planning on the fly," said Marty Main, Ashland's consulting forester. The maps will show thinned areas where fire crews could safely base operations, said Fire Chief Keith Woodley. They'll also show potential tinderboxes and areas where aerial retardant is effective because it will penetrate the forest canopy and pinpoint key spots to stop a fire's spread. One of the primary spots is Ashland Creek canyon. Fires in the 1953 and the 1979 moved up the canyon. The maps are part of a Wildfire Management Plan developed at the City Council's request to deal with fire threats in the city's forested western outskirts. The plan also will also help determine which areas to treat first for fuel reduction with National Fire Plan funds. Work to reduce fire threats farther out into the city's watershed has already begun as part of a U.S. Forest Service plan dubbed Ashland Interface Fire-Hazard Reduction, or "Hazred." Debated for several years, the plan took hits from environmentalists concerned that some of the plan's logging would, among other things, harm the Ashland Creek watershed, which provides the city's drinking water. City Council saw the maps and got a briefing on the city's Wildfire Management Plan at a planning session Wednesday. Main and Woodley began the work in August 2001. It was peer reviewed by Forest Service and academic experts. The plan covers 2,600 acres inside the city and between the city and the forest service acreage higher in the town's watershed. Ten land categories were created by on-the-ground observations and review of aerial photos. Certain species predominate in each of the categories and four fire danger ratings were applied to the categories. The maps also show where fuel reduction has been performed. A total of 868 acres are in four extreme hazard categories that include ponderosa pine, manzanita, conifer plantations or a mix of species. Another 1,253 acres are in three high-risk categories that includes old and dying Douglas fir and mixed conifers. A moderate category for white oak has 141 acres. There are 231 acres of grasslands that have a low rating. Riparian areas, totaling 155 acres, carry varying ratings. Among 13 areas designated as top candidates for work are the Perrozi property above Southern Oregon University, portions of upper Lithia Park, areas off Timberline Terrace, and Hamilton Creek by Green Meadows. Last year the city had $30,000 in national fire plan assistance to help property owners reduce vegetation. This year the city will share a $250,000 grant with the Oregon Department of Forestry to do work on property that is both within and outside city limits. Grant money can also be used on public land this year. Since 1996, the city has spent about $30,000 annually to reduce fire hazards in the area. Thinning efforts so far have avoided areas of high geologic risk, said Woodley, But some of these areas must be treated. Among them is a steep hillside above the city's water treatment plant. If the area isn't thinned all the trees might die, leading to a collapse of the hill. "The city is getting in really good shape compared to 10 years ago," said Woodley. "I don't know where this (planning) has ever been done before in Oregon. It's a fairly rational, strategic approach." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.