Wildfire Wednesdays #106: Smoke Exposure Mitigation

Hi Fireshed Community,

As seasons begin to change, and Spring brings warmer and windier weather, it is a good time to think ahead and prepare for the realities of the upcoming fire season. Smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires is a serious concern as it can cause or exacerbate health conditions for some people living in fire-adapted communities. Living in northern New Mexico we must accept that wildfire and smoke is inevitable but there are measures we can take to reduce our risk and health effects.

To support you in smoke exposure mitigation, this Wildfire Wednesdays includes the following:

• General info about AQI and PM 2.5

• Air quality information - Airnow.gov and Purpleair.com

• Smoke exposure mitigation

  • General air filtration

  • FACNM’s HEPA filter loan program

• Smoke forecasting webinar with air quality specialist Kerry Jones - March 16th

Stay Safe,

Gabe

Wildfire Smoke Basics

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant material. The gases and fine particles can be dangerous if inhaled. In wildfires, carbon monoxide is mainly a risk to people (like firefighters) who work near smoldering areas. Smoke can irritate your eyes and your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. The amount and length of smoke exposure, as well as a person’s age and degree of susceptibility, play a role in determining if someone will experience smoke-related health problems. If you are experiencing serious medical problems for any reason, seek medical attention immediately.

Air Quality Index (AQI)

Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

For each pollutant an AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to an ambient air concentration that equals the level of the short-term national ambient air quality standard for protection of public health. AQI values at or below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy: at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.

The AQI is divided into six categories. Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. Each category also has a specific color. The color makes it easy for people to quickly determine whether air quality is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities.

Particulate Matter and PM 2.5

The particulate matter (also called “PM”) in wildfire smoke poses the biggest risk to the public’s health. The potential health effects vary based on the type of plants burning, atmospheric conditions and, most importantly, the size of the particles. Particles larger than 10 micrometers usually irritate only the eyes, nose and throat. Fine particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller (PM2.5) can be inhaled into the deepest part of the lungs, and may cause greater health concern.

Air Quality Information Sources

The first step to mitigating your smoke exposure is getting up-to-date, accurate information about air quality in your area. To support you in finding the best available data, we would like to introduce Airnow.gov for local AQI information and purpleair.com for information

What is Airnow.gov?

AirNow is your one-stop source for air quality data. Our recently redesigned site highlights air quality in your local area first, while still providing air quality information at state, national, and world views. A new interactive map even lets you zoom out to get the big picture or drill down to see data for a single air quality monitor.

AirNow reports air quality using the official U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI), a color-coded index designed to communicate whether air quality is healthy or unhealthy for you. When you know the AQI in your area, you can take steps to protect your health.

Click here to visit, airnow.gov.

What is Purpleair.com?

PurpleAir makes sensors that empower Community Scientists who collect hyper-local air quality data and share it with the public. PurpleAir's sensors measure particle pollution (PM2.5) both indoors and outdoors.

PurpleAir is built on the ideal of sharing data and by doing this, empowering individuals to effect change. All public PurpleAir data is available to download under various licenses from private, not for profit use to educational and commercial use.

Click here to visit purpleair.com.

Smoke Exposure Mitigation

One of the best ways to reduce the impact of smoke is by reducing the amount of smoke that enters your building and filtering harmful particles from the air. If you have a central air conditioning system in your home, set it to re-circulate or close outdoor air intakes to avoid drawing in smoky outdoor air.  Upgrading the filter efficiency of the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and changing filters frequently during smoke events greatly improves indoor air quality.  

Smaller portable air cleaners are a great way to provide clean air in the areas where you spend most of your time. Essentially these are filters with an attached fan that draws air through the filter and cleans it.  These cleaners can help reduce indoor particle levels, provided the specific air cleaner is properly matched to the size of the indoor environment in which it is placed, and doors and windows are kept shut. They should be placed in the bedrooms or living rooms to provide the most effectiveness. 

When air quality improves, such as during a wind shift or after a rain, make sure to use natural ventilating to flush out the air in your building. 

The Winix 5300-2 and 5500 is what FACNM uses for our HEPA loan program

Selecting a Filter - For either portable filters or HVAC filters make sure to select a filter that is true HEPA or has a MERV rating of 13 or higher. These ratings refer to the size of particles that the filter will remove from the air and in this case they are certified to remove particles down to .3 microns in size. This is the minimum needed to remove the small harmful particles in smoke.

When selecting a portable filter, the other rating to pay attention to is CADR or Clean Air Delivery Rate. This refers to the volume of air that passes trough the unit. A CADR of 200 means the unit provides 200 cubic feet of clean air per minute, and often this number is equated to the room size that it will effectively purify the air in. In a 300 sq foot room a filter with a rating of 200 CADR will cycle the air through the filter 4-5 times per hour. While any filter will provide clean air those with lower CADRs will simply work more slowly. Lastly, make sure to avoid filters that claim to produce ozone to destroy pathogens, as ozone is a respiratory irritant. 

More information about filters and guides to selecting one can be found in the Resources section below.  

Face Masks - Face masks can be an effective way to reduce your exposure to smoke when they are fit correctly and are the proper rating. Make sure the mask you use is rated at least N95 or N100 and that you take care to fit it properly. These masks will filter out the small particles that are the most hazardous to your health. Paper masks only filter out large particles and will not provide the filtration needed to protect you from smoke. 

HEPA Filter Loan Program

With support from the New Mexico State University, the national Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, and the Forest Stewards Guild, FACNM is pleased to offer this pilot HEPA Filter Loan program. These filters are available to smoke sensitive individuals during periods of smoke impacts in some areas of Northern New Mexico, but we hope to expand to more areas soon. We have a small amount of portable air cleaners that will filter the air in a large room such as a living room or bed room. These will be distributed on a first come- first served basis for predetermined time periods. You will need to provide contact info and come to office listed for your area to sign for the filter and pick it up.  Please look over the HEPA Air Filter Check-Out Contract.

To view contact information for the HEPA loan program in your area, visit the FACNM smoke page.

For general information about the program contact Gabe Kohler at the Forest Stewards Guild at gabe@forestguild.org.

Upcoming Events

Webinar: The Skinny on Smoke - Outlooks, Education and Awareness

Thursday, March 16, 2023 2:00 PM 3:00 PM

Click here for full event information and to register.

Where there is fire there is smoke, and where there is smoke there are potential impacts on air quality!

How do we know when, where, and for how long our communities are likely to be exposed?

In this one-hour presentation, Air Quality Specialist Kerry Jones will discuss various facets of smoke projections, including what goes into generating seasonal outlooks and fire weather forecasts, the weather conditions that are most conducive to fire and to smoke, and how determinations of air quality are made along with the decision to send air quality advisory alerts out to the public.

Please join us to learn about the operational side of smoke forecasting, followed by a facilitated Q&A session where attendees may pose their questions to the presenter.

When: Thursday, March 16th from 2-3pm MT
Where: Zoom and FACNM Facebook Live
Who: Kerry Jones, USFS Air Quality Specialist

Santa Fe National Forest Issuing Free Special Use Permits for Fuelwood at Rowe Mesa

For a map of the fuelwood area, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #105: Fire Prevention vs Fuels Reduction

Hello and happy Wednesday, Greater Santa Fe Fireshed community!

Fire management comes with a vast vocabulary of unique or unusual terminology. For individuals who are not exposed to these terms every day, exact definitions and usage can be pretty confusing. Having a clear understanding of terminology is important for cross-disciplinary discussion, public education, and to foster a common understanding of what goes into fire management. Today we will be distinguishing between and delving into two sides of wildfire management - fire prevention and fuels reduction.

Today’s Wildfire Wednesday features:

• The fire management triangle - before and during a fire

• Differences between fire prevention and fuels reduction

• Common questions and misinformation

Be well and stay warm,

Rachel

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The Fire Management Triangle

What is wildland fire management?

Colorado State Forestry defines fire management as the “activities concerned with the protection of people, property, and landscapes from [severe] wildfire and the use of [ecologically appropriate] burning for… forest management and other land use objectives, all conducted in a manner that considers environmental, social and economic factors.”

At its core, fire management describes all potential actions for controlling or guiding when, where, and how a wildland fire burns. It takes into consideration what ‘values’ would be at risk were a wildfire to burn through a given area, the ecological impacts of wildfire, and the human factors involved - from ignition to suppression to post-fire recovery.

Fire management activities include: pre-suppression, readiness, fuels management, training, prevention, suppression, prescribed fire, fire analysis and planning, rehabilitation, public affairs, and other beneficial efforts. These activities generally fit into two categories - pre-fire and during fire - and can be broken into three distinct branches: fire prevention, fuels reduction, and fire suppression.

What tools do we have?

Fire prevention, or the activities associated with reducing unplanned human-caused ignitions, and fuels reduction, or the management of organic fuels through removal or modification, are generally implemented before a wildfire happens. Fire suppression, or the containment and extinguishing of a fire, is implemented as a wildfire is burning.

Fire prevention: Activities intended to reduce the incidence of unplanned human-caused wildfires [and the risks they pose to life, property or resources], including public education, law enforcement, personal contact, and other actions taken to reduce ignitions. (NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire)

Fuels reduction: Manipulation, including combustion, or removal of fuels [vegetation and organic debris] to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control. The act or practice of controlling flammability and reducing resistance to control of wildland fuels through mechanical, chemical, biological or manual means, or by fire in support of land management objectives. (CSFS Forestry & Wildfire Glossaries of Terms)

Wildland fire suppression: An appropriate management response to wildland fire that results in curtailment of fire spread and eliminates all identified threats from a particular fire. All wildland fire suppression activities provide for firefighter and public safety as the highest consideration, but minimize loss of resource values, economic expenditures, and/or the use of critical firefighting resources. (NIFC, Wildland Fire Management Terminology)

Distinguishing Between Fire Prevention and Fuels Reduction

Both involve pre-fire work, so what is the difference?

Fire prevention

An example of signage intended to raise awareness of the risks of human ignitions and simple prevention techniques.

Wildfires are started either by natural causes (usually lightning) or by human activity. People start wildfires in a wide variety of ways: vehicle exhaust pipes, cigarette butts, poorly extinguished campfires, burning debris piles, and sparking equipment such as chainsaws are all common causes. Other human-caused ignitions come from arson, fireworks, powerlines, and more. With nearly 90% of unplanned ignitions being started by humans, simply reducing the spark can make a big difference in reducing unwanted wildfires.

Fire prevention, which focuses on stopping a fire before it starts, is accomplished primarily through education. Research has shown that human ignitions tend to be clustered, or occur most commonly, around cities, roadways, and busy recreation areas such as trailheads and campgrounds. Fire prevention efforts seek to inform the general public of the ways in which fires are started, the impacts of those fires as they burn, and how they can be prevented. In general, prevention programs most likely to be effective are those that give people information and tools that enhance their perception of their power, as individuals, to prevent wildfires.

Read more about fire prevention in the 2018 report on reducing human-caused ignitions in New Mexico, a 2021 report on investing in wildfire prevention, the DOI’s 10 tips to prevent wildfires and NM Forest Division’s fire prevention tips.

Fuels reduction

“When vegetation, or fuels, accumulate, they allow fires to burn hotter, faster, and with higher flame lengths. When fire encounters areas of continuous brush or small trees, it can burn these ‘ladder fuels’ and may quickly move from a ground fire into the treetops, creating a crown fire… [The objective of fuels reduction] is to remove enough vegetation (fuels) so that when a wildfire burns, it is less severe and can be more easily managed.” (NPS, What is Hazard Fuel Reduction)

(Left) an overcrowded forest with plentiful ladder fuel, (Right) a resilient forest following fuels reduction thinning treatments.
Photos courtesy of NPS.

Fuels reduction aims to thin out living and dead vegetation from forested areas to reduce the total amount of fuel that is available for a fire to burn. It also is designed to create breaks in the fuel type and arrangement (e.g. reducing ladder fuels) so that even if a fire starts, it cannot quickly move from the ground level into the tree canopy. These goals may be accomplished through ecologically-based forest thinning (the mechanical removal of shrubs and small trees), mastication, chipping, and prescribed fire (the purposeful introduction of fire under favorable conditions).

Fuels reduction is not intended to stop the forward progress of a wildfire as soon as it hits the treatment area; instead, fuels reduction treatments are designed to reduce the growth of fires that ignite in treated areas, moderate fire behavior by reducing crown-to-crown movement when a flaming front encounters a treated area, and enable fire management activities (containment and suppression) by giving firefighters a safe space to directly interact with the fire.

A feller-buncher thins small-diameter trees from an overgrown forest.
Photo courtesy of USFS.

Wildfire ecologists almost universally support fuels reduction — especially in forests that used to flourish under frequent ground fires, such as the ponderosa pine forests of the Southwest. Fuels reduction is also an effective pre-fire treatment in wildland-urban interfaces and in home defensible spaces. Read more about fuels reduction in the High Country News article, Does thinning work, a Forest Service article on thinning the forest for the trees, and an NPR interview with UNM professor Matthew Hurteau.

Continuing the Conversation

Common questions and misinformation

Still have questions about fire management and what can be done to prevent or control a fire before it happens? Refer to the resources below for more information.

• Revisit our September 2022 blog post on counteracting wildfire misinformation, which includes examples of common ecological restoration myths and the facts to correct them.

• Read 10 common questions (and their answers) on adapting western US forests to climate change & wildfires.

• Review an ERI working paper summarizing key insights on the 18th - 21st centuries’ unprecedented, human-caused fire exclusion and its impacts on fire-dependent forest landscapes in western North America

• Scan the Western Environmental Law Center’s fact sheet on 8 key points to adapting forests to wildfire and climate change.

Wildfire Wednesdays #104: Asset-Based Community Development

Hello Fireshed Community,

Each community or neighborhood across the Santa Fe Fireshed has a unique set of strengths and and challenges. These unique characteristics are what gives our communities identity. Many of us are proud of where we are from or where we live because of these local identities. As we work towards a more fire adapted future, it is important that we work with the strengths and challenges of our individual communities rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. This process takes time and local leadership, but it leads to better outcomes in the end. This week’s Wildfire Wednesday will focus on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) to support local leaders in working documenting their community’s strengths and challenges in hopes of working with them. This framework is brought to us from the national Fire Adapted Communities learning network (FAC Net) and the Fire Learning Network.

This Wildfire Wednesday includes:

• New Mexico Counties Wildfire Risk Reduction grant funding announcement

• Information on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)

• Information about Upcoming Events

  • Community Resiliency Fairs - Mora, Las Vegas, Buena Vista, Sapello, and Chacon

  • SW Tribal Fire & Climate Virtual Workshop

Stay Safe,

Gabe

Asset-Based Community Development - Overview

Asset-based Community Development (ABCD) is a specific path for identifying and connecting a community’s assets so that they use and grow their capacity to change on their own terms. “Community” can refer to a neighbor-hood, a village or district, a residential development or a town—an area that residents recognize as “theirs.” Asset mapping is used in ABCD in a facilitated, participatory and inclusive process through which a group of residents identify the individual, associational and institutional assets in their neighborhood or community, then use them in envisioning and taking practical steps toward community improvement. The group usually produces a map (that locates assets geographically) or an inventory (that lists assets in a document or database). Either of these should be a “living document”—periodically updated to include new people, associations and institutions and their assets.

In this blog post, we share an abbreviated set of steps for ABCD to serve as an introduction to the framework. For the full guide on Asset-Based Community Development, click here to explore FAC Net’s full page of community engagement resources, including the whole ABCD series.

What Do Community Assets Look Like?

Community assets are usually identified according to the following three categories because each type has different kinds of assets, all of which are important.

• Individual assets are skills (machine repair, emergency response or bookkeeping), talents (music, baking, note-taking) and abilities (listening, physical strength, inclusivity).

• Associations are any informal, voluntary group of residents. Their assets might include local knowledge and traditions, communication and networking, and event organization.

• Institutions are formal organizations with employees and buildings. Their assets might include professional contacts, meeting space, employment opportunities and equipment.

How Do You Start?

Telling stories in a small group is a good place to begin. Ask questions like these—“What are good community experiences that we have had in the past? What do we already have that works well? Why does it work well?”—and notice the people, places and organizations that come up. The fun and meaningful work of identifying the assets you already know of, and engaging with others to discover their assets, leads to exploring potential interconnections. Connecting assets creates excitement and new possibilities, opening opportunities for new relationships and new action.

For a full overview, click here.

Asset-Based Community Development - Next Steps

Situation Assessment

Situation assessment is Step 1 in an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) process that helps people connect their strengths to create new opportunities for living well where periodic wildland fires are expected. Situation assessment is a good place to start if you do not already have partners in the area where you will be working. It allows you to learn directly from community members about their strengths and challenges. It also gives you a way to identify people who enjoy meaningful community involvement and who are natural collaborators. Once you have people to work with, you will be ready for Step 2 in asset-based community engagement: asset mapping with community “connectors.”

Steps for a Sitiuation Assessment

• Define the task but be flexible.
  Set a geographic boundary, a period of a few months, and a target number of interviews. Plan time before and after interviews to explore the area and chat with store owners, restaurant waitstaff, librarians, artists and others about their experience of fire.

• Use the “snowball” method.
  Start with just a couple of key contacts instead of a complete list. End each interview by asking who else you should talk to.

• Welcome different types of fire-related experience and interest.
  Look for and welcome diverse opinions and expertise. You may learn as much from a rancher, a school administrator and a bicycle race promoter as from a battalion commander and a forest health activist.

• Consider where to meet, for how long.
  Expect to spend about an hour per interview, so meet someplace comfortable. Conference rooms are likely to emphasize professional position while restaurants offer a more social feel.

• Ask questions, don’t discuss.
  Focus on understanding your interviewee without adding your own commentary. Ask clarifying questions, but do not correct any misconceptions about fire at this point. Instead, learn about why and how they came to their present understanding.

• Take notes.
  Hand-written notes tend to seem less intrusive than a recording app. Just note down the story outlines and the assets mentioned—any individuals, groups or organizations that are described positively. Stop taking notes if a story becomes personal.

• Start as you mean to continue.
  Focus on the positive (asking questions about assets and not getting bogged down by problems), send thank-you notes, and keep personal information confidential to set up good working relationships for the future.

For a full description of the situation assessment process, click here.

Asset-Mapping with Connectors

Identifying Connectors in Your Community

Connectors should be people who are interested, and perhaps experienced, in some aspect of wildland fire preparedness, response or recovery. But they need not be professional experts or recognized leaders. Connectors may be a retired Forest Service archeologist, someone from a small college, a mental health counselor, a chef, the owner of a small farm, and so on. Shared interest in fire may bring them together, but their social smarts make them successful at mobilizing the community’s fire-related assets

The Process

Invite the connectors together in a comfortable, informal environment—a restaurant or library, or at a kitchen table. Tell each other stories about what you care about related to fire, and why. The community’s problems and opportunities will naturally arise. Facilitate the conversation by writing down all assets, the individuals, groups and organizations that are mentioned positively.

Ask the connectors to collaborate with their acquaintances to identify more of the community’s fire-adaptive assets. Reconvene on a schedule that works for everyone to share what you are finding and the ideas that are emerging.

Capture the assets simply and easily on a community asset map or inventory; ensure that it is shared with everyone who participates and is updated frequently.

Enjoy! As people recognize their community’s strengths, project ideas will flow. Focus on enabling the creativity that occurs, rather than limiting the scope of imagination to existing programs or plans. The connectors will work within the community to devise opportunities for people and organizations to contribute what they do best. Down the road, the experienced fire practitioners located through asset-mapping will help ensure that more ambitious projects are safe and consistent with best practices.

For more information on asset-mapping with connectors, click here.

Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant Funding - New Mexico Counties

The New Mexico Association of Counties is pleased to announce the 2023-2024 Wildfire Risk Reduction Program for Rural Communities that assists at-risk communities throughout New Mexico in reducing their risk from wildland fire on non-federal lands.

Funding for this program is provided by the National Fire Plan through the Department of the Interior/Bureau of Land Management for communities in the wildland urban interface and is intended to directly benefit communities that may be impacted by wildland fire initiating from or spreading to BLM public land.

Grant funding categories include:

• CWPP Updates up to $20,000/project

• Education and Outreach Activities up to $15,000/project

• Hazardous Fuels Reduction Projects up to $75,000/project

Project proposals require a minimum 10% in-kind cost share and must be completed within the 12-month award timeline of July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024.

Applications are due to the local BLM field office for signature(s) by Friday, March 3, 2023, and the completed application(s) with all signatures are due to NMAC by 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 7, 2023. Please contact Aelysea Webb at (505) 395-3403 or awebb@nmcounties.org for more information.

Upcoming Events and Offerings

Community Resilience Fairs

SW Tribal Fire & Climate Virtual Workshop

February 10 -- February 24 -- March 10 (2023)

9-11am MST  |  Zoom 

Please REGISTER - click here

Goal:  Increase tribal capacity around wildland fire and climate change impacts across the Southwest.

Participants: Tribal fire and natural resource professionals and non-tribal professionals that support tribal fire and climate resilience. Please share with others who may have interest.

Topics (based on participant interest):

• Indigenous perspectives and resources on fire, climate change & adaptation

• Identifying capacity needs and partnership options for managing wildland fire in the face of climate change (including MOUs and other agreements

• Opportunities and challenges with burning (permitting, burn plans, cultural burning, cross-jurisdictional coordination, etc.

• Hazard response (FEMA, public safety, emergency operation plan/management) and risk reduction

• Post-fire: restoration, flooding, and economic impacts 

• Expanding an ongoing conversation & support network

• Assessment and monitoring of actions and strategies

• Other interests (please share when you register - see link above)

Format: Virtual (Zoom) will enable greater participation across the Southwest landscape.  Each tribal-led workshop session will include a mix of topical presentations and peer learning and exchange.

Cost: Free

Glorieta Camps Prescribed Burning to Continue as Soon as January 24

Glorieta Adventure Camps, The Nature Conservancy’s Rio Grande Water Fund, and the Forest Stewards Guild will continue to take advantage of favorable weather conditions in the Santa Fe area for winter pile burning at Glorieta Adventure Camps. This prescribed burn is part of Glorieta’s long-term commitment to improve forest health and reduce the wildfire hazards. The objectives and collaborative commitment of this burn align with the mission and vision of the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition.

Individuals with respiratory health concerns or smoke sensitivity can borrow a HEPA filter for the duration of burn-related smoke impacts through a Filter Loan Program supported by the Coalition.

An Effort Highlighted: The Albuquerque Journal

The Glorieta Pile Burn, which was initiated last Thursday, January 19, after the Camp received 6-8 inches of snow from a winter storm, was one of the State’s first prescribed fires since last year’s Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. The cooperative effort was featured in Sunday’s edition of The Albuquerque Journal. “This is the first burn of the season for the Forest Stewards Guild in a year where both public and private crews are approaching prescribed burns with extra caution”. Full coverage of crew precautions and what the organizations are trying to accomplish with this burn can be found on the Journal’s website or by clicking on the image.

Questions about the burn may be directed to Eytan Krasilovsky, Carlos Saiz, or Sam Berry with the Forest Stewards Guild.