III. Review and Anaylsis of Compiled Data

Data collection for the project was limited to a review and verification of existing natural resource and fire related data. Data was available from several sources including the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and the Storey County Fire Department. The types of data compiled for the risk analysis included soil inventories, elevation, political boundaries, vegetation, fuels, fire hazards, roads, and housing density. Road infrastructure data was compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau. A description of existing data compiled for the risk analyses and mapping is included in Appendix A.

Through a project funded by the U.S. Forest Service, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and the Nevada Agriculture Experiment Station in cooperation with the Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators, UNR mapped vegetation, fuels, and fire hazards in the project area. This study extended east to the USGS Virginia City and Steamboat 7.5 minute quadrangle map boundaries, leaving approximately one-quarter of the study area unmapped on the eastern edge. The unmapped area is relatively low in fuels and housing density.

The Storey County Fire Department provided the results from their roadside inventory and designated areas for fuels reduction. In addition to evaluating fuel loads, SCFD considered other factors such as housing density and defensible space in their ratings.

A high-resolution aerial photograph from October of 1997 covering approximately one-third of the project area was used as the overall basemap for this project to verify and compare fuels, vegetation, and hazard mapping with actual on-the-ground conditions.

Fire Hazards

Fire hazard ratings from the UNR study were compiled from the fuel models and slope. Fire hazards in the project area fall into three categories: moderate, high, and extreme. Figure 2 shows the results of the UNR fire hazard mapping across the project area. The portion of the project area mapped for hazard ratings corresponds to the same areas where fuels data was available from the UNR study.

Field Reconnaissance

The RCI Team reviewed the entire project area in the field on several occasions. The project forester, fire specialist and range ecologist worked together to ground-truth the existing data, develop additional interpretations of existing fire hazards, and formulate recommendations from combined fire safety and environmental perspectives.

Site inspections of individual properties were not included in the scope of work for this project. As such, general risk assessments for building materials, private driveway access, etc., were based predominantly on observed conditions in the project area.