By Mary Alice Murphy

The public is invited to participate Saturday in the final day of the Wildland Urban Interface Summit, hosted by the New Mexico Association of Counties.

Activities will begin at 8 a.m. at the Western New Mexico University Besse-Forward Global Resource Center, and will include sessions for youth and community information, as well as interactive sessions, at various sites on the WNMU Campus.

You can view the schedule for Saturday events at https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1784598 . Click on agenda to discover events to be held in the morning.

The final official presentation on Friday afternoon addressed After Wildfire: A Guide for New Mexico Communities.

Susan Rich and Eliza Kretzmann of New Mexico State Forestry in the Albuquerque Watershed office gave the presentation.

Rich said she and Kretzmann were two of the 2-+ personnel in the office. The mission is to protect and enhance the watershed. She previewed the Guide, which gives who, why and how to plan for after fire.

"In 2011 and 2012, we had successive largest fires in the state," Rich said. "In 2011 the Las Conchas and then the Whitewater Baldy. The most destructive fire in the state's history was the Little Beat near Ruidoso."

After these fires, community officials went to local people with expertise and realized that they also needed to address economic, legal and emotional issues.

"They came to us, the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Health Coordinating Group and New Mexico First," Rich continued. "NM First held a Fire and Water Town Hall. There was no one place where we could find all the information needed post fire, so we created this guide."

She described it as also a good pre-fire planning tool. "We thank the collaborators. We didn't understand how massive a project it was going to be. A U.S. Forest Service grant funded the online guide. Wildfire survivors critiqued the draft. We also have a print version and outreach materials, funded by several agencies."

"How does the AWG fit into the bigger picture?" Rich asked and answered. "New Mexico has a Forest Action Plan to increase our capacity to respond to fire. We conduct pre-fire planning for post-fire response. A lot of the work we're doing complements the National Cohesive Wildfire Manager Strategy goal of resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities and wildland fire response. You will see what you're doing locally fits into the national strategy."

She cited post-fire treatments, how to rehabilitate the landscape after a wildfire, becoming more fire-adapted and clearly identifying community response roles and identifying individuals in the community that have skills needed after the fire.

Kretzmann said, in addition to her role with Forestry Watershed health, she is also a cooperative forester with the National Resource Conservation Service.

She walked attendees through the website, which can be found at www.afterwildfirenm.org.

"Funding for the first phase was with a Forest Service competitive grant and the Silver Jackets funded the second phase," Kretzmann said. The Silver Jackets are supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as state-led teams, which are part of the Corps' flood risk management program.

The main goal of the After Wildfire Guide is safety.

"Mobilizing your community is a crucial part of recovering from a wildfire," Kretzmann said. "We tried to build concise tools for your community. We discovered the need for emotional support and things like needing prescription drugs and how to handle livestock."

It was assessing the needs of those affected by the fire. Communication out to the public was key. Working with volunteers required organization. "Planning is important pre-fire."

The next section, Who Can Help, described the programs and services provided by agencies and non-profits. Individuals or communities need help. A list of possible funding programs were listed, with the caveat that they could change. "There are some things communities can apply for; and others are assistance for individuals and families. Once you get the resources all in one place, you see gaps. We hope these lists continue to grow."

The next section addressed post-fire treatments, especially to address the dangers of flooding and erosion after the fire. "This is a primer to rehabilitating and mitigating post-fire flooding. Included is a treatment comparisons table to help determine what best meets the needs of the particular landscape."

The Financial and Funding Tips section had separate tips for individuals, families and businesses and for communities.

A section on Flood Information was recently updated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she said. "The guide has additional resources and lots of links.

"What's New?" she asked and answered. "Anyone can come to the site and print any page, section or the whole thing to share with your fellow firefighters, your communities or with anyone. We don't mind plagiarizing by other states."

She noted the Community Wildfire Protection Plan guidelines are the ones recommended to be followed for local planning purposes.

Kreztmann mentioned a TED Talk by two sisters who developed the recovers.org website, which matches volunteers to where they are needed.

"State Forestry also has a new brochure on preparing for wildfire," she said, "as well as a video with a discussion document. This video is emotional. Look at it first and then the TED Talk one, which is much more upbeat."

"This guide is being used across the country," Kretzmann said. "Please use it; please visit the site. We welcome edits, suggestions and comments to make it better. Share it widely."

Frank Ferrara of the Pinos Alto Volunteer Fire Department asked about gaps in resources that were found while creating the guide.

"Financial issues for individuals was a main one," Kretzmann said. "Names of funds may have the word emergency in them, but they may not be fast. Not every program of assistance fits every scenario. For instance, an occupied permanent home is treated differently versus a vacation home."

In answer to a question about Burned Area Emergency Funding, she said almost exclusively the funding can be used only on public lands, with few exceptions.

Darr Parker of Sen. Martin Heinrich's office noted that even in a true disaster area, not all areas are addressed. "There is no consistent funding for flooding. Sen. Heinrich now has a wildfire page on his website, with links to this Guide and Firewise." She noted changes had been made to national floodplain maps when areas that had not been declared floodplains were flooded.

"Los Alamos has skewed people's expectations," Kretzmann noted. "That fire was in a different context, because it was caused by a federal agency."

At the close of the session, surveys were passed out to attendees to help NMAC assess this year's summit in preparation for next year's.