Fire Outlook

Q&A with CCA Fire Subcommittee Chair Anthony Stornetta

by Director of Communications Katie Roberti

QWhat did the State’s fire resiliency efforts consist of over winter and as of lately?

ABehind the scenes there was a lot of project paperwork that was submitted. A lot of CEQA that was being conducted and a lot of projects that were starting to get off of the ground. Funding for a majority of these projects and the vegetation management and wildfire resiliency grants all took effect in 2021.

For last year and the year before there were more black acres and prescribed fire projects completed than in the past few years. However, I still do not think we are where we need to be. We have a long way to go. As for the 2022 Prescribed Fire Strategic plan, we are supposed to have 400,000 acres burned by 2025.

I am optimistic that there are many government and non-governmental agencies working towards this goal. If cattlemen are interested in burning reach out to your local prescribed burn associations or CalFIRE units for more information and to get projects on the books.

QWhat do you expect for this year as far as resiliency projects?

AThere is a lot of project prep and mandatory paperwork being completed and reviewed through the state and local agencies. There were a lot of projects that came to fruition last year, with just as many or more planned for this year and next. It was reported recently by CalFIRE staff that a lot of grant funding was pushed out. It was pushed out through prescribed burn associations (PBAs), range improvement associations (RIAs), CalFIRE ranger units, and contract counties to get these special projects off the ground. In 2021 the Governor approved a wildfire resiliency package of $1.5 billion. In May of 2022 another $98 million was approved for forest health projects. There was $250 million in requests for the 2022-23 wildfire prevention grants, where there is only $115 million available. People are actually requesting the funding and it’s getting out there for projects.

In speaking with a CalFIRE executive, it was relayed to us that the Governor just approved another $15 million to be distributed spring of 2023, so the projects are on the books.

QAs far as what’s coming up as we head into summer do you have an outlook for what this year’s wildfire season is going to look like? How much will the extremely wet winter make a difference in how this wildfire season is going to look?

ANo surprise to anyone, but the state received a lot of rainfall, most of us saw 150 to 200 percent of normal rainfall and snowfall. That does have a huge impact on fire season. As you’ve seen everywhere and driving along the highways no matter where you travel, there are large stands of grass crops. They are heavy, they are continuous and, in some places, they are five to six feet tall, which is good for all of us producers. We are all blessed to finally get some much-needed moisture, but what we are forecasting for this year is the transition to high fire season is going to take place a little later, sometime in late June for most areas and even into July for others.

With the large grass crops, I foresee a lot of fire starts and there being a lot of initial attack fires. When fires build and transition into the heavier fuel beds, such as the medium and heavy brush we are not going to see that explosive fire behavior like we have seen in the recent past. With all of the moisture still in the heavier fuels, unless cured later in the year, we may see a slowdown of the fires moving from the grass into the brush due to high fuel moistures. As we transition into summer and have multiple, hot days with low relative humidity, these fuels along with the right slope will come into alignment and burn more significantly.

Across the state, every geographical area will see its own challenges, but I’m guessing that true fire season will probably be from mid-July to October sometime. There continues to be random shots of precipitation, so it’s a big guess right now, fuel moistures are still much higher right now in June than compared to the past five years.

QWhat should ranchers and land managers be ready for on their properties specifically this year?

AThis year if a fire starts on your ranch you will need to have good situational awareness for spot fires. Unlike the recent past, with little to no feed on the ground, spot fires were not a big concern. This year with the large grass crops, this presents with very receptive fuels to sustain spot fires. If your ranch has old decadent fuel beds, with little to no fire history there are still a lot of concerns for fire moving through quickly, same holds true for areas that have not seen any forest management and beetle kill prone areas. This is mostly along your permit areas, private ranch lands see management actions and this is not usually a concern for privately owned properties.

Q: What else will influence how large wildfires may get this fire season?

AFor this fire season, there are many factors influencing the ability to keep fires small in size; high fuel moistures, many pond and reservoirs are full and provide abundant opportunities for helicopters to grab water and have quick turnaround times. Additionally, quick aircraft turnaround times will assist with keeping the fires small or in check until ground firefighting resources arrive on scene. Also, along these lines, there has been a lot of funding from the state to bring on extra dozers, hand crews and aircraft.

QHow are the livestock pass programs progressing in counties across the state?

AThe latest count I have is 33 of the 58 counties either have a livestock pass in place or are coming online. There are two different programs readily available. Some counties are following AB 1103 and just making it a livestock pass. But I’m seeing more and more local stakeholders adopting an “ag pass” which brings in irrigated crops and also livestock.

There is another bill making its way through the legislature and at CCA’s legislative breakfast I was able to speak with Assemblymember Dahle about AB 1141 which would be an “Ag Pass” bill, much like AB 1103 “Livestock Pass.” This bill will not directly impact the Livestock Pass programs, but any amendments to the bill could have the impact of affecting our existing programs. Kirk Wilbur Vice President of Government Affairs is keeping a close eye on this and those discussions moving forward.

QAre you hearing good things as far as the pass is working and groups collaborating better by having the pass?

AI’m hearing a lot of positive feedback, especially with the in-person training because you usually have law enforcement, fire, the ag commissioner’s office and the ag pass holders all in the same room. This provides the opportunity to run table top exercises, and to develop relationships and trust prior to any emergency incident occurring. This is one of the advantages of having in-person training sessions.

All of the curriculum for the Livestock Pass was adopted in February of this year. We were teaching courses under a BETA program prior to this adoption but now it is officially adopted. There’s been a lot of support from Tracy Schohr in the north and Matthew Shapero in the south, so UC Cooperative extension has been playing a key role in program delivery. I want to recognize all stakeholders from the ag commissioner’s office, cooperative extension, CalFIRE, CCA, local law enforcement associations and the fire safe councils that have helped make this a successful program.

QLet’s switch over to the burn boss program. How are those classes going? What does that entail from you?

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AFrom the burn boss program, there’s a lot going on. We have a class scheduled from Nov. 6-10 in San Luis Obispo. If anyone is interested in that class, please reach out to me and I will send you all the information. There was also a refresher class May 30 in San Jose.

If I had to give you a progress report for the burn boss class, we need to have more instructors, there’s only a handful of us that can do it. We need to get people trained and instructor qualified so that as they take the course, they can come back and be an instructor. That’s our main goal right now, is to get more instructors and get the class put on in more locations.

Under the burn boss, we’ve been working diligently on Senate Bill 926, which is the prescribed fire claims fund. I’m not going to take any credit for this. Lenya Quinn-Davidson on CCA’s Fire Subcommittee has been the driving force to seeing this legislation through. The claims fund pilot program is hopeful to launch here very shortly. There is a lot of work and effort that went into it. On June 6 the legislation was reviewed by CalFIRE executives and approved. It is now enroute to the Governor’s office for review and approval. Again, Lenya deserves a lot of credit for this. This legislation will help PBAs, RIAs and private practitioners with obtaining liability insurance for assisting landowners with burning.

QNow that the Prescribed Fire Claim Fund is done, does that open some doors for more prescribed fires? What’s the timeline with that?

ASB 926 is called the prescribed fire claims fund pilot project. It has $20 million dollars and if you conduct prescribed fire practices you can get up to $2 million dollars liability coverage. There is some scope to it and prerequisites—you have to be a certified burn boss, turn in a smoke management plan, obtain a burn permit if required and a burn plan. This legislation authorizes claims covering certain losses arising from prescribed fires and cultural burning until January 1, 2028. This claims fund is intended to both encourage greater types of beneficial fire use and demonstrate that prescribed and cultural burning is low risk, to entice private insurers back into the market.

Editor’s Note: Watch for an update on the continued progress of Prescribed Burn Associations to be in the August issue of the California Cattleman.

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