KTMB and Fire Prevention
What does KTMB have to do with fire prevention?
If you have followed KTMB for a while you have probably noticed that we mention fire risk mitigation efforts quite a bit. Ever wonder why that is? A surprising amount of KTMB’s work actually pertains to fire prevention and at times like this, when the west coast is being ravaged by wildfires and relentless smoke is causing unhealthy air quality, those elements seem especially important. Obviously, these large-scale fires are due to many issues, but there is still tremendous value in the fire prevention KTMB and community residents can accomplish at a local level.
KTMB hosts volunteer clean-up programs year-round including our two big events, the Great Community Cleanup in the spring and the Truckee River Cleanup in the fall. Through these programs, we remove a LOT of trash, but if you’ve ever been out to a site you may have found yourself working to remove a lot of green waste as well. There are actually many reasons for this, one of the obvious being that it helps beautify parks, trails, and other spaces while also improving the accessibility of trails or walkways that may become obstructed by overgrown or dead green waste. Removing this green waste also helps mitigate fire risk. The green waste we remove usually takes two forms, one being dead vegetation, such as broken tree limbs, the other being noxious weeds. Noxious weeds create a whole host of problems, among them is increased fire danger. Removing this so-called “green waste” helps to decrease the fuel available for fires in and around the Truckee Meadows.
KTMB’s Christmas Tree Recycling program also helps reduce fire risk. Live Christmas trees are a beautiful and important part of the holiday season for many families, but once left unwatered these trees become a gigantic mass of kindling. Obviously having a dry tree in your home presents a major fire risk, but these dried-out trees are also hazardous when left around the outside of your home or property. The Christmas Tree Recycling program, taking place in the few weeks after Christmas, offers residents an easy way to properly dispose of trees after the holidays, where they are given a new purpose by being turned in to mulch for use in local area parks. While KTMB’s volunteer cleanups remove green waste from public areas to help reduce fire risk, and it is also important for residents to think about creating defensible space on their own properties. Defensible space not only creates a buffer space for a potential wildfire to slow down, but it also provides room for firefighters to do their job.
To learn more about living with fire and how you can best be prepared, check out the links below: