Catron Fire Prevention
| Fire Danger Index |
Fire Danger Index for Catron County is
Low to Moderate |
| Fire Danger Index Rating |
|
| News Headlines |
Sat. Aug 21st 2010 Horse Mt. lVolunteer Fire Dept. "Open House" 8/21/2010  HORSE MT. VOLUNTEER
FIRE DEPT.
OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY AUGUST 21, 2010 FROM 8:00 AM TO 2:30PM ACTIVITIES IN... Read more » |
Thu. Dec 31st 2009 Hazard Fuel Reductions - Landowner Acres 2009 Treatment Accomplishments for 2009. Read entire article under Files....Accomplishments Other. Read more » |
Wed. Aug 26th 2009 GRANTS are available for Hazard Fuel Reduction Projects Please contact Catron County Commission Office and ask for Linda Cooke. Application and Procedures are located... Read more » |
| Contact Information |
Catron Fire Prevention P.O. Box 507 Reserve, NM 87830 Non-Emergency: 575 533-6423 Emergency: 911 Contact Us Driving Directions Map |
CWPP - Jewett Gap Print this page
The Jewett Gap Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a supplement to the Catron County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The County CWPP completed in October, 2005 assesses the wildfire threat and hazardous fuels treatment priorities on a landscape scale. The Jewett Gap CWPP uses the data and findings of the County CWPP to assess the wildfire threat and treatment priorities specific to the Jewett Gap Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) (#80). Mitigation which will reduce the threat of wildfire damage to property, life and the land are proposed. Project scale data from the County CWPP and other sources is presented to aid in planning and design of the proposed projects.
The Jewett Gap WUI #80 is located primarily in the mostly high elevation area around the mountain pass known as Jewett Gap. Gila National Forest and private land is included within the boundaries. There are 49 E911 address sites recorded for this WUI which includes mostly private homes and miscellaneous out-buildings. There are many steep slopes and generally very high fuel loads. These characteristics are the reason the Jewett Gap WUI area rated first in treatment priority in the County CWPP.
The County CWPP contains a thorough presentation of how determinations of values at risk, risk of occurrence and fire threat were used to locate the areas and values most at risk from catastrophic wildfire in the County and to prioritize treatment needs. Please refer to the County CWPP for more information. It is not the intent of this plan to duplicate the County CWPP. The general outline of the County CWPP is followed in this CWPP.
As a supplement to the County CWPP, the main objective of the Jewett Gap CWPP is to propose work needed to reduce and mitigate fire threat. To accomplish this objective this supplement continues the collaboration started in the County CWPP, coordinating the needed work with past efforts, the various land owners and other interest.
The desired condition for WUI areas as stated in the County CWPP will be difficult to obtain on some portions of this WUI: "The desired condition for WUI areas is a fire safe environment around protected improvements that will provide "defensible space" for firefighters in the event of a wildfire in the surrounding area". The combination of high fuel loading, high elevation forests, steep slopes and environment concerns such as the Mexican spotted owl complicate matters considerably. Although it may not be possible to obtain the level of protection and degree of defensible space desired by many concerned parties, this plan seeks to propose the mitigation that will do the best that can be done under the circumstances.
No modifications were made in the WUI boundary as established in the County CWPP.
Except for the steeper areas, ponderosa pine areas on the National Forest in and surrounding the Jewett Gap WUI have been commercially harvested several times. There have been numerous non-commercial treatments also such as pre-commercial thinning and prescribed burns. Some fuels reduction has been accomplished on and around private land mostly located in the Jewett Gap area along State Highway 32.
Besides the meetings held around the County and one meeting at Quemado Lakes Fire Dept. for the County Wildfire Protection Plan, the Quemado Ranger District of the Gila National Forest has had extensive contact with the private land owners concerning treatment needs and proposed projects. Several meetings have been conducted with Quemado Ranger District personnel to coordinate the writing of this plan. Comments from all these meetings and contacts were incorporated in a rough draft. Comments on the rough draft were incorporated in a draft which was sent out for a last review by the involved agencies before the final was signed.
Most of the data used for this CWPP is from the County CWPP and was scaled to fit this WUI, Although the County CWPP was a landscape scale analysis, much of the data originated at a scale that fits the purpose of this CWPP (30x30 meter satellite imagery for example). In addition collaborative input from the various cooperators and interested parties was obtained through group meetings and individual contacts.
In addition to the public involvement for the County CWPP, a meeting for Jewett Gap residents on 9/5/05 was held by Forest Service representatives. There have been several meetings and contacts with the land owners upon the occasion of fuels work being done by fire crews or during forest fire activity in the general area.
The Jewett Gap WUI area is about 25 miles south of Quemado and about 30 miles northeast of Reserve. Access to the area is over paved State Highway 32 Most of the land is National Forest with private land scattered throughout in the Valleys and flat mesas. Only Quemado Ranger district on the Gila NF is involved.
Elevation within the WUI ranges from 7440 to 9240 ft. so the area extends from pinyon/juniper, through ponderosa pine and up to mixed conifer types. The mixed conifers include some ponderosa pine but are mostly Douglas fir, white fire and Engleman spruce along with some Colorado blue spruce, southwestern white pine and quaking aspen. As can be seen in the table below 52% of the area is in a "closed" canopy condition. The data summary in this table is slightly different from the County CWPP because a slightly different land ownership map was used for this plan. The Gila NF ownership map is different in some cases from the ownership map used in the County CWPP and is believed to be more accurate.
. |
| Healthy Forests |
"Communities for Healthy Forests" Mission Statement: Communities for Healthy Forests was founded to inform the public, natural resource managers and policy makers about catastrophic stand clearing events in public forests caused by fire, and other natural disasters. Communities for Healthy Forests exists to illustrate and explain the benefits of applying the best scientifically supported prescriptions for restoring health to overgrown forests and to rehabilitate severely damaged forests promptly following such events. For more information, see link below: www.communitiesforhealthyforests.org
"The Forest Factor": the factor in the carbon cycle, climate change, and our community. |
| Upcoming Events |
| Picture Gallery |
 |
| Search Our Site |
| Links |
Be Ready! |
National Fire News From the National Interagency Fire Center |
Catron County |
 Login |
Copyright © 2006-2010. YourFirstDue Inc.. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Content on this web site is supplied by Catron Fire Prevention. YourFirstDue Inc. cannot be held responsible or liable for any content, text, pictures, or any other media found on this web site. Maintained by the members and staff of Catron Fire Prevention. |
This site has been viewed 18,650 times. |