CATTLEMEN’S COLUMN IN THE LINE OF FIRE
BE READY TO FIGHT FIRE BEFORE THE FIRST SPARK by CCA Fire Subcommittee Chairman Anthony Stornetta As I write this column, some of us are in areas where fire season has already been declared. On the other-hand there are still areas where the grass is just now losing its live fuel moisture and falling into those parameters where it will soon be readily available to burn. Hopefully by this time we have all engaged in a little pre-fire season planning, some of this planning can be completed at home and not engage anybody else, but many times there are many parts to the puzzle for this planning phase. Not only is it a good idea to discuss a plan with your family in the unfortunate event a fire occurs on your ranches, but communicating these plans with your neighbors or local public safety officials is a good idea too. Good relationships and partnerships are key to having the most successful outcome once a fire occurs. A lot of us are hopefully very familiar with defensible space and home hardening, if not visit Cal Fire’s home hardening page for conducting a selfassessment of your ranch. Above and beyond this, things to consider around the ranch may include some of the following ideas. Ensure good access to roads around the ranch for yourself, family and employees so areas can safely be traversed in the event of fire. Conditions will be smoky and everyone will likely be in a hurry. Another benefit that graded roads provide is a natural fire break to stop or slow a fire. Some fires will naturally die out at well maintained roads, with all vegetation removed. Other times this is a good place to make a stand for ground firefighting resources and even when aerial firefighting equipment such as tankers are looking at opportunities to try to make a stand and box the fire in. Roadways provide great opportunities for laying down retardant and reinforcing containment lines. I know that a lot of times grading roads is associated with extra costs, but this is a small price to pay for safety and providing every opportunity to stop a fire. It is also important to have a good plan and communicate it to your family and employees so they can safely escape fire prone areas. Communicate decision points and discuss when it is safe to engage the fire and try to extinguish, but also know when to disengage and when to leave the area to avoid getting trapped or hurt. Good relationships with local public safety agencies are important, at a high level, invite them to your local cattlemen’s and cattlewomen’s meeting. Create open dialogue with them about how you can help each other in the event of a fire. Becoming a familiar face prior to a fire occurring is very important. Initiating a conversation with some of the local fire officials at these meetings will provide the 8 California Cattleman July 2024
opportunity for you to also invite them to your ranch for further discussions. Many fire agencies will jump at the opportunity to come out to your ranches and conduct fire planning. Spring time is the best because you can see all of the local influences of the wind. When grass is tall, and supple, it moves with the wind and gives fire agencies a great tool for determining fire spread, wind influences due to local canyons and aspect, as well as topographic challenges located on your ranch. Many of us ranchers have equipment such as water tenders, dozers and graders on site. Discuss this with your local fire agencies and how you can help if a fire does occur. I have seen countless times privately-owned equipment make a quick stop prior to any fire resources arriving on scene. Other important items to cover when having your local fire agency out for a ranch visit is accessibility to water and locations for refill, how to work pumps or generators if needed for pumping, also point out access, egress roads and gates. Communicate hazards such as shallow pipelines, propane storage and low-lying boggy areas to stay away from. Some fire agencies conduct road grading on large ranches to improves access for fire equipment and to establish fuel breaks, have this discussion to see if this is offered. Talk to them about the possibility of initiating prescribed fire on your ranch as well. Fire agencies look forward to opportunities to conduct live fire training and this could benefit you as well as them with improving pasture and removing hazardous, invasive fuel beds. Other reasons for having good relationships with local public safety is to assist with timely access in the event of a fire, an Ag Pass is great for large fires with many resources assigned and is the formal process when interacting with law enforcement from multiple jurisdictions. Many times, getting to know your local law enforcement early establishes the trust that is needed to allow quick access during the initial attack phases of the fire. Although this may not always work, it is usually pretty successful. In closing, your CCA Fire Subcommittee is made up of a diverse group representing the entire state, if there is ever anything you would like us to look into please feel free to contact me. Fire insurance, prescribed fire and forest management remain some of our top priorities, but we will always assist with local issues as well, just reach out.