R.I. must prepare for wildfires amid climate change, panel warns - The Boston Globe

R.I. must prepare for wildfires amid climate change, panel warns

PROVIDENCE — With the forest fire season looming, a legislative commission on Monday laid out numbers that add up to a stark warning about the growing danger posed by wildfires amid climate change.

While Rhode Island remains one of the most densely populated states, about 53 percent of the state’s land area is forested, the commission reported. And last year, Rhode Island experienced two big wildfires: A blaze in Exeter burned an estimated 238 acres at the Queen’s River Preserve, and a fire in West Greenwich tore through more than 200 acres near the Big River Management Area, the report said.

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Those fires highlight the need for better forest management, but state Department of Environmental Management staffing has dwindled even as the amount of state-owned land has grown, the commission said.

In 1990, DEM had 16 rangers, 7 foresters, 18 laborers, and 2 equipment operators. But by last year, the state agency was down to 4 rangers, 6 foresters, 3 laborers, and no equipment operators, the report said.

Yet since 1980, DEM has acquired more than 23,000 additional acres. “DEM’s level of funding has resulted in it being able to actively manage only approximately 1 percent of Rhode Island forests annually,” the report said.

At the same time, an estimated 25 percent of Rhode Island’s trees are dead, in large part because of the spongy moth outbreak, said Representative Megan L. Cotter, an Exeter Democrat who chairs the Special Legislative Commission to Evaluate and Provide Recommendations on Proper Forest Management for Fire Prevention.

“It’s kindle for a fire,” Cotter said of the deadwood. “We’re going to have drier, hotter brush fire seasons, especially in the urban/rural interface. With people living around the woods, we should anticipate more fires there. So our communities should see an increase in wildfires.”

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Yet if a major blaze did break out, the state wouldn’t have enough firefighters to douse it, the report concluded.

“In the event of a major forest fire, every second counts when trying to contain the spread of the fire and mitigate the damage to land and property,” the report states. “Currently, Rhode Island has approximately 350 firefighters and 1,000 volunteers, which is considered to be fewer than necessary in the event of a massive forest fire.”

Also, the report warned, fires in heavily forested areas can be difficult to reach because of a lack of access roads and bridges. Even when access roads and bridges exist, access can be blocked because of lack of maintenance, inadequate width for emergency vehicles, and boulders placed at access points.

So the 12-member commission is making a series of recommendations in a report it will send to House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat. Those recommendations include:

- Increase the “green economy” bond to fund programs for fire prevention in forests. Cotter and Senator Louis P. DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, have proposed legislation that would add $16 million for land protection programs to the $50 million “green economy” bond that Governor Daniel J. McKee proposed placing on the Nov. 5 ballot. That bill would add $3 million for “forest and habitat management on state property.”
- Add staff positions within the Department of Environmental Management. Cotter and Senator Linda L. Ujifusa, a Portsmouth Democrat, have proposed legislation that calls for adding 10 DEM staff positions “in the areas of woodlands, forests, and forestry projects.”
- Re-evaluate the practice of using boulders to block entrances and exits to access roads for forested areas. Commission members said firefighters had to wait 45 minutes to move a boulder during the West Greenwich fire. They called for replacing boulders with gates and giving local firefighters the keys.
- Require DEM, in conjunction with local fire departments, to conduct comprehensive mapping of public and private access roads in heavily forested areas. The recommendation calls for an inventory of road conditions and the proximity of access roads to nearby bodies of water.
- The Fire Chiefs’ Association should further develop a forest fire training component to be taught at the Rhode Island Fire Academy.
- The DEM, in tandem with emergency management agencies, should develop standardized brochures, handouts, and electronic materials containing key information and resources on land management.

House Minority Leader Michael W. Chippendale, a Foster Republican, said wildfires are a concern in his rural district. “We have more trees than people,” he said. “We do see more and more little forest fires, brush fires popping up.”

Decades ago, that rural swath of Rhode Island didn’t have as many trees because much of it was farmland used for crops and grazing, “and folks that lived there managed their forests,” Chippendale said. But, he said, “Now that it’s a sleepy bedroom community, with a couple of farms here and there, trees have overtaken everything.”

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Communication is the key to making sure Rhode Island is better prepared for wildfires, Chippendale said.

“I was really surprised when we first started this by how many different little organizations are in existence right now,” he said. “And then I was further shocked to learn that there’s not necessarily great communication between them.”

Commission member John Torgan, state director of the Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island, said the report should make clear that climate change “has exacerbated conditions and made Rhode Island more susceptible” to wildfires. And the commission agreed.

“All of this is connected,” Torgan said. “We’re becoming more susceptible to wildfires. Last spring, we had record heat for two days.”

In those conditions, he said, “There are no leaves on the trees. That sun comes through to the forest floor. And it doesn’t matter what the cause (of a wildfire) is: It could be a cigarette. It could be a sparks from an ATV. But the point is: We are more susceptible because of climate change, and we are seeing this happen here in Rhode Island.”

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.