IRM recently finished the summary of the surface and crown fire analysis for Mary's River Estates and the Vineyard Mountain subdivions within Benton County, Oregon. Forest inventory data such as, tree species, diameter at breast height, crown base height, and crown class were collected for each tree on one hundred forty-three plots within each subdivision. This information was then compiled, along with the slope, aspect, elevation and fuel models, within
FlamMap™, a fire behavior modeling software package. Within
FlamMap™ three different fuel moisture scenarios were used to model the fire behavior: moderate, high, and extreme weather conditions. The
FlamMap™ output was then converted to a GIS layer, within
ArcMap™, and overlaid on the stand maps to show where crown fires are most likely under these weather conditions. IRM then combined this information with the structure vulnerability information, provided by the Corvallis and Philomath Fire Departments, to organize and complete two Community Wildfire Protection Plans for Mary's River Estates and the Vineyard Mountain subdivision.
From these fire plans the two different communities created an "Action Item List" to help organize efforts in decreasing the possibility of a catastrophic fire on their properties. Items on the lists consisted of: evacuation route signs, establishing a defensible space around all structures, mitigation of fine fuels, and removing trees from over-stocked stands.
Please follow these links to view the full final Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
Mary's River Estates Community Wildfire Protection Plan (pdf 3Mb)
Vineyard Mountain Community Wildfire Protection Plan (pdf 3Mb)
