Fire Recovery

Project Description

This project seeks not only to convince the public and our local leaders that fire is inevitable, but also that there are ways we can prepare for future fires by recovering from the recent fires employing more fire sensitive behaviors than historically were employed.   

Project Leader 

To join this project contact Gary Clarida

Goals

This project seeks to encourage greater acknowledgement among the public and local leaders of the need for fire resilience in our planning and zoning, our landscaping, and our construction. Efforts focus on: reducing the carbon footprint in and adjacent to the fire footprint; increasing the fire resilience of the structures and the surrounding landscape in the impacted area; developing policies that insure a just and equitable distribution of the costs particularly as regards the communities most impacted; focusing the riparian restoration of Bear Creek to mitigate for the next fire and to enhance its value as a cultural economic and ecological asset to the region.

Connection to SOCAN Mission

The main benefit of fire sensitive recovery is communities that are better adapted to be fire resilient. While this is primarily an adaptive goal rather then one that promotes reduced emissions, helping communities survive the inevitable climate-induced fires comprises an approach that help them address one of the most critical human problems imposed by our changing climate.

Background Information

Regrettably, fire is an inevitable feature of our western Mediterranean (winter wet/summer dry) climate forests. Fire has been critical throughout the history of our regional forests and will be even more prevalent as climate change produces drier summer soils and vegetation.  While the September 2020 Oregon fires were a human disaster, they were also a wake-up call.  This project seeks to help area residents understand our fire history, the role of climate change in the future trend, and help our community become more resilient to the inevitable future fires. 

Resources

Link to Resources Page