Lawrence County Community Wildfire Protection Plan - Black Hills ...

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condition verses historical forest conditionsmay help people become aware that weneed to work toward getting the forest backinto a more natural condition. Reducing therisk from wildfire by lowering fire intensitiescan help save lives, property andresources.Structure density should also beconsidered when reducing the risk fromwildfire. A structure burning inside ofanother structure’s survivable space addsto the overall intensity and spread of awildfire. In many cases structure afterstructure are consumed by fire and thenatural vegetation does not burn. In thesecases it is the urban fuels that aresupporting the spread of the wildfire.Another important consideration isthe insurability of property in the County. Ifstructures are at higher risk from wildfire,insurance companies may not insure theseproperties, or they may insure them at muchhigher rates. Insurance companies arerecognizing Firewise practices andtechniques to reduce the exposure fromwildfire. If we can make the overall areabetter prepared for wildfire, this will helpreduce insurance costs or possibly preventinsurance companies from cancelingexisting policies, or denying insurancealtogether.HazardsThe vegetation coverage acrossnorthern Lawrence County is very diverse.The northern portion of the County isprimarily Great Plains Grasses withhardwoods in various draws and drainages.There may also be areas of PonderosaPine stands that could pose a threat tostructures in Lawrence County. Hardwoodsdominate the lower foothills surrounding theBlack Hills. Burr Oak, Iron Wood, QuakingAspen and Paper Birch are some of theprimary hardwood vegetation types. Theseareas of deciduous vegetation types arenot as conducive to high intensity wildfires.That is they are not as likely to carrysustained fire through the canopy.Hardwood stands throughout the Countyshould be identified and measures takento promote the restoration of these fireresistive species. These areas ofdeciduous vegetation create a diversity offuels that significantly reduce fire intensities.Meadow enhancement programsshould also be implemented to reduce theencroachment of conifers and other nonnativevegetation into meadows and openspaces. These open spaces provide fuelbreaks and areas of opportunity for firesuppression activities. The Black Hills havean abundance of White Spruce also knownas “Black Hills Spruce”. Spruce typicallygrows on the northern slopes and in thebottoms of drainages where more moistureis available. The vegetation on these Northslopes is generally much denser due to thehigher moisture levels and the relationshipto the sun. North slopes usually have lessfire frequency than south and west slopes.Occasionally hot, dry weather patterns12 Lawrence County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
make conditions right for north slope fuelsto burn and possibly with extremeintensities. The branching habit of a Sprucetree is usually continuous from the groundto the top of the tree, which makes themmore conducive to torching and crowning.When a Spruce tree torches it showersembers and firebrands that can createhazards associated with spot fires. Drierwinters and lack of spring storms reducesthe fuel moisture in large fuel sources thatare present in the forest. This maycontribute to increased fire behavior.Spruce regeneration in areas that are nothistorically Spruce stands should bereduced to help protect and promote theoriginal stand species.Hazardous fuels can also beassociated with cured grasses found on theprairie. Tall grasses that are cured andavailable to burn can generate high intensityfires that can spread very quickly. Thesegrass fires can be very dangerous becauseof the volatility of the fuels involved. Severalfirefighter fatalities in South Dakota haveoccurred on the prairie with grass as thefuel model. Shelterbelts need mitigationfrom wildfire and are areas of concern ifthey are not maintained properly.Maintenance may include disking betweenrows of trees to reduce the amount of fuelsfrom grasses. Removing dead materialand restoring with fire resistive plantspecies may help a shelterbelt survive awildfire event by reducing fire intensity.Shelterbelts need to be continuouslyregenerated and maintained to be efficient.The primary vegetation affectingwildfire in Lawrence County is mediumgrass, forbs, Ponderosa Pine and WhiteSpruce. Thinning of live conifers to createcanopy separation helps reduce the chanceof high intensity stand replacement firesfrom occurring. A surface fire generallyburns with lower intensities and provideslarger more mature trees a better chanceof survival. These surface fires also helpconsume typical forest litter and keep fuelsfrom building up to a hazardous level. Fuelreduction activities should target reducingsurface fuels such as storm-damagedtrees, slash and timber litter. Breaking thevertical continuity of the ladder fuels thatcontribute to torching and crowning firebehavior help reduce the chance of the firespreading into the canopy and alsoimproves forest health. Another benefit ofreducing crown fires is maintaining theaesthetics after a fire event, thus protectingthe ecological sustainability across thelandscape.There are many areas in LawrenceCounty that have had the absence of firefor over 100 years. This has resulted inLawrence County Community Wildfire Protection Plan 13
Page 1 and 2: Lawrence CountyCommunity WildfirePr
Page 3 and 4: Table of ContentsCommunity Discussi
Page 5 and 6: from all hazards is an important co
Page 7 and 8: separation between the canopies. Th
Page 9 and 10: general weather patterns, producing
Page 11: project will help insure this impor
Page 15 and 16: Hills could be jeopardized by uncon
Page 17 and 18: The ½-mile buffer zones will have
Page 19 and 20: together to reduce risk from uncont
Page 21 and 22: County. Visitors can access places
Page 23 and 24: straight, with good form and vigor
Page 25 and 26: week. Most volunteers cannot stay o
Page 27 and 28: Rochford Fire Department11696 Rochf
Page 29 and 30: Whitewood Fire Department912 Garfie
Page 31 and 32: decks, under eaves, canopies orover
Page 33 and 34: Fuel Treatment RequirementsLawrence
Page 35 and 36: P. Exterior doors shall be solid co
Page 37 and 38: Firewise LandscapingPhoto courtesy
Page 39 and 40: C. Topography (Slope Hazard Rating)
Page 41: Lawrence County Community Wildfire
Page 46 and 47: Fire Regime I—This term means an
Page 48 and 49: Bibliography*American Heritage® Di

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