CREW HOPES TO KEEP FOREST FIRES, HOMES APART

A cold, winter wind blew across the mountainside and down PrestonForest Drive last week as men worked in the woods around AliceSchneider's home.

The crew, led by Joe Brigandi of Cana, was working as part of afire mitigation program sponsored by the New River-Highland ResourceConservation and Development Council. The goal is to reduce thethreat of wildfire to homes.

While the most of Southwest Virginia remains under a burning banbecause of the lack of winter moisture and drying winds, this projectis not a result of current conditions. It has been in the planningstages for some time.

"Our perspective is that it gets a lot of brush down up close tothe house to keep fire from spreading," Alice Schneider said.

While ultimately nothing can keep fire from burning, the workthese crews are doing reduces available fuel, she said.

She and her husband have lived on the mountain since 1979 and havenot seen a forest fire in that time. She recalled being alarmedseeing a fire truck going down the mountain one night, thinking itwas a sign it was going for water. She went up the street to see ifshe needed to take action and learned there had been a flue fire, nota fire in the woods.

The ice storms a decade ago brought a big limb down on theSchneider's driveway. After that they took out some trees theythought might pose a danger from ice or wind.

"Living in the woods, you are always taking a certain amount ofrisk," Schneider said, "but I'm not sitting here being afraid. It'salways in the back of your mind but I don't worry about it."

The local RC&D Council is paying for the work with a $200,000 USDAgrant. Another expected $200,000 grant will cover the whole state.Homes within three miles of national forest land can be included inthe program, said council President Chuck Shorter and coordinatorGary Boring.

As for the work itself: "We come in and knock down the dead ordying trees," Brigandi said while taking a break.

This is done the first day the crew comes to a home. The workersthen pick up dried wood, cut brush and small trees and pile them outof the way. The second day, they use a small tractor and otherequipment to continue clearing growth that could provide tinder inthe event of fire.

Brigandi said they cut lower limbs and where there are evergreens,open the trees up so the forest canopy does not touch. The goal is tokeep fire out of the high canopy, which makes a hotter, moredangerous fire than one kept on the ground.

The workers chip the wood that is removed or pull the branchesaway from the homes to places such as ravines where it can be left torot and provide wildlife cover. The chipped wood can be spread overthe forest property, used as mulch by the homeowners or composted tobe used in home landscaping.

The crew starts clearing a 30-foot buffer around the home.Brigandi and Boring said Schneider had done a good job in landscapingaround the house with a grassy lawn and flower beds.

The work continues in the next 30 to 50 feet from the house, withcrews taking out all the growth less than 3 feet tall and limbs nearthe ground.

Farther from the house, about 150 to 200 feet, is where the crewsbreak up the canopy to keep fire from getting hot enough to set ahome on fire.

Boring pointed to the recent fire in Bedford County where fivewoodland homes were in danger. A fire truck was parked at each one toprovide help if the blaze got to them. This meant that the trucks andfirefighters were not available to meet other needs, he said.

The council's fire mitigation program is aimed at making suchmeasures unnecessary and freeing firefighters and equipment.

Shorter said the council hired Brigandi to develop the program forthe counties it serves. The program now is active in 10 of the 11counties included in the council's coverage area. To be part of theprogram, the county must have national forest land within itsborders. Floyd is the only county not to qualify.

After Brigandi developed the program, the council told him toimplement it. So far, tinder has been cleared from about 70 homes. Itdoes not take a lot of work in hardwood forests, he said.

Brigandi stressed that he and his workers do not do any controlledburning in this project. Too many controlled burns becomeuncontrolled fires, he said. While doing the mechanical removalcosts more, Brigandi said he thought it did a better job.

The crews avoid taking too many trees out of the forest becausethat would cause the sun to shine through the open space andencourage more growth.

"We hope the homeowners will maintain it," Shorter said.

If the area is not kept clean, the tinder will grow back and thehouse will again be at risk.

For more information, call (276) 228-5137.

CREW HOPES TO KEEP FOREST FIRES, HOMES APART

A cold, winter wind blew across the mountainside and down PrestonForest Drive last week as men worked in the woods around AliceSchneider's home.

The crew, led by Joe Brigandi of Cana, was working as part of afire mitigation program sponsored by the New River-Highland ResourceConservation and Development Council. The goal is to reduce thethreat of wildfire to homes.

While the most of Southwest Virginia remains under a burning banbecause of the lack of winter moisture and drying winds, this projectis not a result of current conditions. It has been in the planningstages for some time.

"Our perspective is that it gets a lot of brush down up close tothe house to keep fire from spreading," Alice Schneider said.

While ultimately nothing can keep fire from burning, the workthese crews are doing reduces available fuel, she said.

She and her husband have lived on the mountain since 1979 and havenot seen a forest fire in that time. She recalled being alarmedseeing a fire truck going down the mountain one night, thinking itwas a sign it was going for water. She went up the street to see ifshe needed to take action and learned there had been a flue fire, nota fire in the woods.

The ice storms a decade ago brought a big limb down on theSchneider's driveway. After that they took out some trees theythought might pose a danger from ice or wind.

"Living in the woods, you are always taking a certain amount ofrisk," Schneider said, "but I'm not sitting here being afraid. It'salways in the back of your mind but I don't worry about it."

The local RC&D Council is paying for the work with a $200,000 USDAgrant. Another expected $200,000 grant will cover the whole state.Homes within three miles of national forest land can be included inthe program, said council President Chuck Shorter and coordinatorGary Boring.

As for the work itself: "We come in and knock down the dead ordying trees," Brigandi said while taking a break.

This is done the first day the crew comes to a home. The workersthen pick up dried wood, cut brush and small trees and pile them outof the way. The second day, they use a small tractor and otherequipment to continue clearing growth that could provide tinder inthe event of fire.

Brigandi said they cut lower limbs and where there are evergreens,open the trees up so the forest canopy does not touch. The goal is tokeep fire out of the high canopy, which makes a hotter, moredangerous fire than one kept on the ground.

The workers chip the wood that is removed or pull the branchesaway from the homes to places such as ravines where it can be left torot and provide wildlife cover. The chipped wood can be spread overthe forest property, used as mulch by the homeowners or composted tobe used in home landscaping.

The crew starts clearing a 30-foot buffer around the home.Brigandi and Boring said Schneider had done a good job in landscapingaround the house with a grassy lawn and flower beds.

The work continues in the next 30 to 50 feet from the house, withcrews taking out all the growth less than 3 feet tall and limbs nearthe ground.

Farther from the house, about 150 to 200 feet, is where the crewsbreak up the canopy to keep fire from getting hot enough to set ahome on fire.

Boring pointed to the recent fire in Bedford County where fivewoodland homes were in danger. A fire truck was parked at each one toprovide help if the blaze got to them. This meant that the trucks andfirefighters were not available to meet other needs, he said.

The council's fire mitigation program is aimed at making suchmeasures unnecessary and freeing firefighters and equipment.

Shorter said the council hired Brigandi to develop the program forthe counties it serves. The program now is active in 10 of the 11counties included in the council's coverage area. To be part of theprogram, the county must have national forest land within itsborders. Floyd is the only county not to qualify.

After Brigandi developed the program, the council told him toimplement it. So far, tinder has been cleared from about 70 homes. Itdoes not take a lot of work in hardwood forests, he said.

Brigandi stressed that he and his workers do not do any controlledburning in this project. Too many controlled burns becomeuncontrolled fires, he said. While doing the mechanical removalcosts more, Brigandi said he thought it did a better job.

The crews avoid taking too many trees out of the forest becausethat would cause the sun to shine through the open space andencourage more growth.

"We hope the homeowners will maintain it," Shorter said.

If the area is not kept clean, the tinder will grow back and thehouse will again be at risk.

For more information, call (276) 228-5137.