"Wildfire 2003" public meeting set for April 15

Prolonged drought conditions, the impact of dead fuels on fire behavior and the continuing infestation by the bark beetle are among topics that will be addressed at the fifth annual "Wildfire 2003" public meeting from 5 to 9 p.m., April 15, in Graves Hall at the United Church, 2525 Canyon Road in Los Alamos.

The meeting is cosponsored by the Interagency Wildfire Management Team and the Laboratory's Public Interface Design Study and is free and open to the public.

Activities begin at 5 p.m. with exhibits and poster displays by the Interagency Wildfire Management Team and other community organizations. Panel presentations begin at 6 p.m., followed by a question and answer period at 7:30 p.m. and a breakout session with the panelists from 8:15 to 9 p.m.

The panel will include representatives from the Nature Conservancy, Los Alamos County Fire Department, Los Alamos County Cooperative Extension Services, the Laboratory's Cerro Grande Rehabilitation Project (FWO-CGRP) Office, Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos County Emergency Management.

"Although we've had a little spring precipitation, we are still in a drought condition," said Diana Webb of Los Alamos' Operations Directorate, co-founder and chair of the IWMT. "If the winds pick up in April, as they often do, we will see the forest dry out quickly. The fact is that here, on the Pajarito Plateau, the threat of wildfire will always be with us," said Webb.

Doug Tucker, Los Alamos County deputy fire chief and an IWMT member agrees. "Barring a very wet spring, the forecast is grim. We have a real fuel hazard in Los Alamos. The eastern slopes of the Jemez Mountains and Los Alamos County are looking at extreme conditions again this year," Tucker said. "We anticipate a season that's worse than in 2000.

"Without the onslaught of the bark beetle, we might have had a different scenario, but now we have to deal with dead fuels," Tucker said. "We're better off if the fuels are on the ground than if the brown needles are still on the trees otherwise know as 'standing red'. Spot fires will be our biggest problem."

"With all the dead fuel on the trees and on the ground, we're looking at a different type of fire than the Cerro Grande," Tucker continued. "We may not have the luxury of evacuating next time. We may have to shelter in place.

"We don't know for sure what kind of fire season we'll have but we're going to get through this," Tucker said.

Former Los Alamos County Councilor Robert Gibson of Plasma Physics (P-24) will moderate the discussion and a public question and answer session.

For more information on the "Wildfire 2003" meeting, contact Fran Talley of the Laboratory's Public Affairs Office at 7-5225 or write to flt@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

-- Fran Talley

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