Introduction This guide is intended for environmental public health professionals responding to a wildfire as part of an immediate response or recovery process. It provides information needed in the event of a wildfire within a jurisdiction, with potential consid - erations and roles for environmental public health professionals. The guide outlines steps that can be taken before, during, and after a wildfire event. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive discussion of each key environmental health area. A number of guidance documents and weblinks are provided to review hopefully before a wildfire occurs. For each of the key areas, this guide identifies environmental public health concerns and their corresponding immediate response and recovery objectives. Also included are: • boilerplate messages • web links and forms that can be used to meet objectives Due to the many environmental public health responsibilities, a review of this and other refer - enced guidance is recommended before a wildfire occurs. Periodic reviews, training, and updates should also be considered. It is prudent to recognize disaster potentials and trends (for example, climate change and its local impacts) to make informed decisions regarding emergency preparedness and response. Response and Recovery This guide will focus on response and recovery activities, with consideration for preparedness duties. Response activities immediately follow a wildfire starting, where the focus is on protecting lives/ property and managing its spread. Recovery activities are taken to return the community and conditions to normal after a wildfire including the rebuilding process, educating communities, and developing better wildfire prevention practices. This guide is not intended to be comprehensive within each topic area, but to provide environmen - • links to guidance documents • possible cross-sector partners Before the Event
tal public health staff with ideas about what to consider when a wildfire occurs. What is a Wildfire? A wildfire (also known as a forest fire, brush - fire, wildland fire, or rural fire) is defined as an unplanned unwanted fire. A wildfire includes unau - thorized human-caused fires, escaped prescribed fire projects, and all other wildland fires where the objective is to put the fire out. 1 Wildfires can occur almost anywhere in the United States and many parts of the world. Wildland Fires Wildland fires are non-structural fires that occur in the wildland, 2 have existed for millennia, and have served to maintain the health of a forest or ecosystem, including returning nutrients to the soil; opening up space for additional sunlight for younger trees and plants; releasing seeds when a fire melts the resin that holds seeds inside cones or fruits; clearing undergrowth of flammable materials; and decreasing insect infestations or invasive plant species. Prescribed Fires A prescribed fire is a planned fire intentionally ignited to meet certain objectives such as preventing high-intensity wildland fires by reducing hazardous fuel loads near developed areas. There has been much debate on the pros and cons of prescribed fires, also called prescribed burns, but if properly managed, can reap benefits that outweigh the cons of its use. 3 Changes in Wildfire Frequency and Intensity Many factors have led to the increase in wild- fires, their intensity, and impacts on homes. These include: • climate change, • drought conditions, • under-use of prevention techniques such as prescribed burns or brush clearance, • fire-resistant building construction, and • population centers moving into what are known as wildland-urban interfaces (WUI). Droughts in recent years have led to beetle infes - tations that have killed trees and created an enor - mous amount of dry fuel. Invasive plants have displaced native species that differ in flammability.
4
Powered by FlippingBook