Fire and Water ProposalFire is our greatest challenge; it is our Katrina that is waiting to happen. The Angora fire is the wake-up call to a level of destruction that is not just possible, but probably inevitable — unless we undertake a level of action equal to the magnitude of threat. Now is the time for all of us to awaken to this challenge which threatens our lives and loved ones, our properties, our communities, and our entire environment — which is why we all choose to live here. We must undertake the remedy to catastrophic fire from our deepest instinct for survival, and address it with the focus and effort of front line soldiers in battle. We have the capacity to solve this problem, and the opportunity is now at hand. Take a few minutes to join me in exploring how we can start right now to transform this challenge into opportunity. Our circumstances are changing and we have a new chance for progress, with new funding sources that can dramatically enhance our ability to solve this problem. I'm quite positive for turning this dire situation around. First I'll propose three solutions that are timely and achievable near term, and the "big idea" that ties them together. Then I'll tell you why I'm so hopeful, offering in outline form the elements that are contributing to our new possibility of success. Finally, I want to extend to you an invitation to join the effort, and invite you to get into the conversation and go down the road of action. Three Proposed Solutions
1. Lake Tahoe Area Fire ProtectionLake Tahoe residents in Placer County have a problem: adequate flow of water to support fire-fighting and fire hydrant availability are spotty. In some areas, pipeline sizes are too small, and pipelines are old. Branch pipelines off of these main pipelines are in some areas undersized, with too few fire hydrants to give protection to all homes. The system is not adequate as it stands. Firefighters know this, and have initiated a collaborative dialogue among all water purveyors, public and private, within Placer County; the group has asked Placer County Water Agency to facilitate and support the dialogue with the intention of forging an action plan to address these issues. One of the possible solutions is a new main waterline extending from the Nevada border to the border with El Dorado County. This possible project would provide a backbone of water supply for the entire region that could not just meet the fire safety need, but replace the undersized and aging infrastructure with reliable, safe pipelines. All purveyors would benefit, with the ability to back up one another for all emergencies, from fire flow needs to emergency repairs. A collaboration among the many purveyors, the fire fighters, and state and local health officials would garner the attention of federal and state funding partnerships, and could be championed by Senator Diane Feinstein and Governor Schwarzenegger who have been so successful at bringing funding to the Lake Tahoe area. And, importantly, this kind of a project is a perfect candidate for funding from Placer County Water Agency's Middle Fork Project. PCWA has established a revenue policy (PDF*, 54 KB) for those revenues which will start to become available in 2013, and this project would qualify for several of the categories listed in that policy. These countywide funds could be used to leverage the state and federal funding with a substantial local matching dollar share. This kind of community collaboration is necessary to address the fire and health risks to our communities. I hope the dialogue that is underway can successfully reach agreement and set forth an action plan toward this fire safety solution. 2. Placer County-wide Conversion to Renewable Biomass as Source for EnergyPlacer County should move toward conversion to renewable biomass as a sustainable source for energy. Using our forests' abundance for energy can contribute enormously to both our fire safety, and to the health and beauty of our landscape. Biomass use for energy is not new; in fact, twenty percent of Sweden's electricity is generated from their forests' biomass harvest, and their goal is to reach forty percent nationwide — this is from both biomass gasifiers for electricity and wood pellet production for home heating. The U.S. is getting much less than 1% from this resource. Here in the Sierra, we have some of the best forest growing conditions in the world, but we have allowed our forests to become unnatural and unbalanced. The technologies used in Europe are available here, and we should follow their example. Mid-sized biomass generators can provide energy and heat to our public buildings and businesses, and sell the surplus electricity onto the grid. Placer County has developed a biomass strategic plan, but we need to go beyond what is stated in that plan. We should be aiming to make our county a pilot area for the nation. As our nation moves towards renewable energy programs in a new administration (of either party), Placer should be in line with special pilot status legislation that can remove some of the obstacles to biomass development in our region. Again, use of PCWA's Middle Fork revenues could help our area gain state and national attention, as this kind of investment is consistent with that PCWA policy (PDF*, 54 KB). One of the concerns expressed about forest biomass utilization has been the fear of turning our forests into industrial landscapes. But that would not serve our interests since tourism, recreation, and the love our residents have for the beauty of our area would not suggest or allow that kind of forest management. Sweden's forests are a model for sustainability, putting the first sustainable forest practice laws into place in the early 1500's. We can emulate that example, and go one better. Since we can no longer introduce fire into our forested communities as the Maidu did, we'll have to mimic nature by removing excess biomass and burning it in controlled conditions to make electricity. Our forests will be more healthy, and our communities will be more fire safe. See the outline for more information, and contact me if this proposed program interests you. 3. Countywide Strategically Placed Area Fire Treatments and Water InfrastructurePlacer County needs a countywide plan to put strategically placed area fire treatments and water infrastructure for fire flows in place. With a new revenue stream from the Middle Fork Project, citizens and decision-makers alike need to have before us the assessments, the analyses, and the prioritized plans for what investments need to be made wisely. Each area of investment will need to make its business case to compare against all other proposals (and there will be many). Only in this kind of highly studied and informed, competitive environment will the right investments get made. And in the case of fire, that means a strategic fire plan for prevention as well as suppression. First let's look at prevention, then let's look at suppression and water infrastructure. To prevent catastrophic fire, we have to make it reasonable for homeowners and business owners to cooperate with the goal of making the whole community fire safe — that's not too big a goal; it's the only goal that can work. For a goal that big, you need to know where to start. What investments in reducing the fuel load are the highest priority? We have an example of a community that has done such a plan, and has completed a pilot area … the Proposition 13-funded Colfax area strategic fire plan. 
Proposed network of shaded fuel break areas (Click image for larger view) The proposed areas are outlined in light blue on this map and generally appear lighter than the other areas of the map. This plan was completed in 2005, and is documented at the Colfax Community Watershed and Fire Safe Ecosystem Project website. The analysis and plan was created by the top fire plan specialists on the West Coast working for the U.S. Forest Service. Here is a map showing the first iteration of the plan which identifies the first key strategic areas to do fuel reduction treatments. This analysis was the first stage view of a strategic approach to making the Colfax community fire safe; it would have to be refined, compared to the strategies for other communities, and then would come the difficult decisions creating a queue — which areas get treated first. This would no doubt depend on how well landowners cooperate, and which neighborhoods are ready to step forward for their own protection as well as the wider benefits to the community. 
Mixed conifer-oak forest: before and after (Click image for larger view) This photo shows fuel reduction using a masticator at the end of a day's work. The thick undergrowth on the left of the picture is the original condition of the forest. The second area is fire suppression: where is there adequate water infrastructure to protect our communities from fire, where is it missing, and what is the plan to do the best we can to move to provide the highest level of protection feasible? Again, an unprecedented level of countywide cooperation will be needed, from all the cities and special districts working closely with residents and landowners to arrive at a program that is robust and equitable. A countywide strategic fire plan will take effort, time and money. It took us one hundred and fifty years of mis-managing our fire ecosystem until now it threatens our very existence because of catastrophic fire threat. It will likely take a generation to remedy the situation. We will have to learn to mimic fire through our direct management efforts, but in the end I have no doubt we will accomplish our goal. We have no other choice. The Big IdeaThe Big Idea that ties all this together is our greatest opportunity. The Sierran corridor along Route 80, which starts from the Bay Area and our State Capitol and on to the destination of Lake Tahoe, is the most populated, wealthiest, and sophisticated community in the Sierra Nevada. Time after time we have shown it is our county that can out-compete and out-cooperate any region in the state; PCWA's FERC re-licensing effort is a good example of such multi-stakeholder cooperation. By working together yet again in just that way, we can make the mountain section of Placer County and Lake Tahoe the pilot area for fire safety, sustainable energy production and use, and unparalleled beauty that can be a model for the world. Our vision finally manifested will draw tourists and recreationists from around the world. When we think that big, we can draw together resources from all levels of government and the private sector, and make our communities prosper in safety, in ecological balance, and in beauty for all of time. InvitationI'd like to invite you to join in the conversation. If given the opportunity to serve another term as Placer County Water Agency Director for District 5, I pledge to begin the work of helping each community organize to respond to the challenge. This is already underway in the Lake Tahoe area, where PCWA is facilitating meetings among all water purveyors and the firefighting community to investigate the water infrastructure solution. I will work to ensure that all District 5 communities have that same conversation, and that the assessments and strategies are wisely in place before the Middle Fork Revenue stream becomes available 2013-2015. In that way, we can make wise and informed choices, knowing what our priorities are. I look forward to working with you. Contact me. Success ElementsHere, in outline form, are the elements that are contributing to our new possibility of success.
This outline is a work in progress. I will be posting more of the outline around October 28 on this website. * Get Adobe® Reader
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Otis Wollan
Placer County Water Agency Director, District 5
©2010, Otis Wollan
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