In this Fire Hazard Severity Zone map adopted by Cal Fire in November 2007, the light yellow shows moderate fire hazard areas and the darker yellow high fire hazard areas. The red areas are designated as very high for fire danger.

LAKEPORT – If this summer has taught Californians anything, it's that the risk of fire is ever-present, and more perilous than most realize.

The importance of preparation has led to the formation of the new Lake County Fire Safe Council, which was introduced at a special meeting Thursday evening at the Board of Supervisors chambers in Lakeport.

The council is beginning its work of actively participating in fire prevention efforts in the county, including assisting with the creation of a community wildfire protection plan, said Supervisor Denise Rushing, who led the meeting.

Rushing, who is on the Lake County Fire Safe Council, said the group will allow the county to receive grant funding to assist in fire prevention projects.

Fire danger in Lake County, Rushing said, is "significant, it's costly and it's dangerous."

For recent proof, look no further than the 14,500-acre Walker Fire, first reported on the afternoon of June 22. Sparked by a vehicle hitting a rock in the remote Benmore Canyon area, the fire engaged hundreds of firefighters and cost $3.2 million, and resulted in the evacuation of as many as 35 homes in Lake and Colusa counties.

The Walker Fire pales in comparison to the 1996 Fork Fire, which burned more than 83,000 acres and may be the most devastating in the county's recorded history.

Two days before the Walker Fire was discovered, a June 20 lightning storm with more than 6,000 lightning strikes sparked approximately 2,096 fires across 26 counties, according to Cal Fire. The result is nearly 1.2 million acres burned across the state. More than 25,000 firefighters from around the state, nation and the world fought those fires.

Neighboring Mendocino County was hit by 129 lightning fires, which burned more than 54,000 acres, and resulted in $48.5 million in firefighting costs, according to Cal Fire.

Millions have been spent to fight the fires, with 511 structures lost, Cal Fire reported. And then there is the human toll, with the lives of 15 firefighters lost.

For Lake County to be fire safe, Rushing said it's going to take a grassroots movement. She told the gathering of about 30 people, "You are the leadership in this effort."

Pat Frost, director of the California Fire Safe Council, said fire safe councils have been forming a long time.

Such councils take many forms, and are as varied as the communities they serve, said Frost. Some are very small and casual, some larger and more formal. It will be important, he added, to ask the community what they want their council to look like.

Rushing said a lot of work already has been done on fire safety issues locally. She pointed to South Lake Fire Safe Council as a model for other areas of the county as well as the overarching main council.

Dave Henderson of the six-member South Lake Fire Safe Council said his group serves the third largest fire district in the state.

Their work includes creating shaded fuel breaks to prevent fires from getting into the crowns of trees, creating an evacuation plan, outreach to students and the public at large, free chipping and more.

"We never thought we'd be where we are today," Henderson said, adding that everyone needs to do their part to be fire safe.

Jeff Tunnell of the Bureau of Land Management, who got into firefighting 27 years ago, shared with the group three factors that contribute to fire intensity: topography, oxygen and weather, and fuel.

It's the latter – fuel – that is the only one that can be modified, said Tunnell.

And it isn't just brush that composes fuel, said Tunnell, but homes as well.

The "lightning siege" that descended in June, said Tunnell, resulted in massive movement of resources, leaving only three local attack engines to work the fire during its first few days. A fluke of the weather led the fire away from homes.

Tunnell said California needs to go back to a regime where fire is part of the natural landscape. "How we get to that is the big question."

Now, forests are too full of fuel after years of overly successful fire suppression, said Tunnell. The result is bigger, more damaging wildland fires.

A prime example of a Lake County community vulnerable to fire is the Clear Lake Riviera, he said. With a lot of fuel and only two ways in and out, residents could find themselves trapped if a fire broke out there.

Without preparation, it's a case of when, not if, when it comes to big fires, said Tunnell.

Tunnell assisted with a final analysis of the 2007 Angora Fire in Lake Tahoe, where they found that "home-to-home" ignition caused the greatest destruction of homes, not the burning forest.

He suggested people think past defensible space to "survivable space" – the idea that, if a person had to evacuate their home, they would return to find it OK.

Safety against wildfires, Tunnell said, is a tough sell unless people are directly affected.

Tunnell, who teaches at the National Fire Academy in Sacramento, said the emphasis for him is on firefighter safety. He tells young firefighters that no job is worth dying for.

"We've had a horrendous year for firefighter fatalities," he said, referring to the 15 deaths statewide this year.

Pam Francis, deputy director of the county's Water Resources Division, asked Tunnell if there was any hope of returning the state's forests to a natural state. He said yes, but it would take billions of dollars and require regular burning, which in some areas of the state is prohibitive due to air quality regulations.

It also would need a change in thinking when it comes to fire, and realizing not all fire is bad, he said. When the first white settlers came to California, they found the air often was smoky due to lightning fires burning around the state.

Dave Jaramillo, a consultant on the fire plan, said Tracy Katelman of ForEverGreen Forestry will draft the county's community wildfire protection plan.

Initial work on the plan began in June, and is expected to be completed in June 2009, Jaramillo said.

There will be 10 meetings held in communities around the lake from Oct. 20 through Oct. 30 in order to introduce the plan and gather input, he added. Dates and times will be announced.

Community members who want to find out more about the council and plan can visit www.co.lake.ca.us/firesafecouncil.htm, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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