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Canopy Closure - The distance between the tree tops if one
were to look straight up. If the canopy closure is very dense, then the
spacing is very tight with very little sunlight able to pass through. Cistern - Water storage vessel.
Defensible Space - A designated area around your home that is
intentionally maintained so as to be free of any features that would
tend to increase the risk of damage from wildfire.
Dry Hydrant - A non-pressurized pipe system permanently
installed in existing lakes, ponds, and streams that provides means of
suction supply of water to the tank truck. The dry hydrant system gives
the trucks access to the ponds and streams from the main road.
Fire Resistant Materials/Construction - Construction materials
designed to resist the spread of fire. For detailed descriptions see the
Uniform Building Code.
Fuel Break - An area, strategically located for fighting
anticipated fires, where the native vegetation has been permanently
modified or replaced so that fires burning into it can be more easily
controlled. Fuel breaks divide fire-prone areas into smaller areas for
easier fire control and to provide access for fire fighting.
Heavy timber construction
Ladder Fuels - Materials which allow fire to move vertically
from the ground up to the tops of trees (e.g., dead fuels to lower
branches to other intermediate trees and shrubs to the upper tree
canopies).
Mitigation - To make or become less severe; an effort at
reducing or eliminating the impacts of injury or damage from a hazard or
disaster.
Noncombustible Materials - A material which, in the form in
which it is used, is either one of the following: 1) Material of which
no part will ignite and burn when subjected to fire, or 2) Material
having a structural base of noncombustible material as defined in the
previous item, with a surfacing material not over 1/8 inch thick, which
has a flame-spreading rating of 50 or less (flame-spreading rating
obtained to tests conducted in ASTM E 84-91a). Noncombustible does not
apply to surface finish materials.
Slash - The remnants of tree limbing, thinning, and ground
fuel reduction (i.e., branches, limbs, deadwood).
Wildfire - A fire that spreads fast and is hard to control; an
open fire which spreads unconstrained through the environment. If not
quickly controlled, the result can be a fire storm, often termed a
"conflagration," which destroys large amounts of property and threatens
lives. Since prehistoric times, wildfires have been a natural force in
shaping and changing Colorado's landscape. Many of the native tree,
brush, and grass species have evolved into fire-dependent vegetation.
Some are so fire dependent that their combustibility increases with age,
thus assuring renewal and continuation of the species. Lightning
provides the ignition for these naturally occurring fires. Human-caused
fires may also become firestorms.
Wildfire Hazard - As defined in the Colorado Land Use Act is a
wildfire phenomenon which is so adverse to past, current or foreseeable
construction or land use as to constitute a significant hazard to the
public health and safety or to property. The term includes but is not
limited to slope and aspect; wildfire behavior characteristics; and
existing vegetation types. Wildfires are becoming more intense and
frequent due to the last 100 years of fire suppression, which has
resulted in an accumulation of live and dead fuels; and the increasing
recreational use and human habitation. The continued growth of
development and recreational activities in the areas of greatest
vulnerability gives rise to increasing risks. In 1994, the nation,
including Boulder County, experienced the most demanding wildfire year
ever with over $1 billion dollars spent to put out 74,000 wildfires, 28
firefighters lost, and 4 million acres burned. Over the last 5 years
(1990-1995), an average of 500 homes were consumed per year to
wildfires. In Boulder County, the Black Tiger Fire of 1989 and the Olde
Stage Fire of 1990 combined resulted in the loss of 66 homes and over
6,000 acres at a significant cost to the county.
Wildland - An area in which development is essentially
non-existent, except for roads, railroads, powerlines, and similar
transportation facilities. An example of area in the County that
conforms to this description is the North Saint Vrain drainage.
Wildland Urban Interface - A term used to describe where homes
and development encroach on the native vegetation such as the grass and
forested covered slopes of the plains, the foothills and/or the mountain
areas. This human encroachment into the wildland is an area at risk to
wildland fires or wildfires. |
