Reducing Wildfire Impacts: How the 2-3-2 is Helping Communities Coexist With Fire
Fire happens. The 2-3-2 Partnership believes communities can coexist with fire and brings a suite of tools to do so.
Overview
In an era of unprecedented forest and subsequent fire conditions, we recognize fire occurrence in many forms across the 2-3-2. As an element, fire will interact with dry vegetation and we need to make a choice of what outcome we want to see. These forests and waters cannot withstand a large-scale wildfire but with the right treatments, including selective thinning, small-scale prescribed burning, and relatively low risk managed fire, we hope to live amongst fire again.
Wildfire Treatment Interactions
2-3-2 Partners coordinate work at the landscape-scale, but treatment design, location, and implementation happens within local communities. Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from wildfire takes an all-hands all-lands approach. Together, 2-3-2 Partners, home and business owners, and neighborhoods work to create defensible space around structures to reduce their chances of burning down and make it safer for local firefighters when a fire does occur.
Defensible space resources:
In addition, 2-3-2 Partners and local contractors implement strategic fuels reduction projects, including thinning and prescribed burning, to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire to local communities, waterways, and wildlife habitat. This work draws on best available knowledge to alter fire behavior while maintaining its role in ecosystem function.
Learn More: Building Landscape Resilience to High Severity Wildfire ForestStewardsGuild
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Strategic fuels reduction projects are designed and implemented at the community scale, with coordination across agencies, private landowners, and local contractors. Defensible space work, thinning, and prescribed burning are the primary tools.
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Midnight Fire 2022
The Midnight Fire demonstrated how vegetation treatments can reduce wildfire impacts. Watch the video and explore the Story Map below to see how prior treatments shaped fire outcomes.Story Map: Midnight Fire Forest Visualization:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a11da0b1848949d79a027d43bbc7c71f/page/Midnight-Fire