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Avery County ranger: storm damaged timber, increased wildfire risk; county urged to pursue mitigation and funding
Summary
County ranger Richard Carpenter told the Avery County Board of Commissioners that recent storm damage removed a large share of canopy across the county, increasing wildfire risk; staff described grant options and a request for added personnel and regional crews.
Richard Carpenter, the Avery County ranger, told the Board of Commissioners that storm damage has left substantial timber loss and increased wildfire danger across the county.
Carpenter said field data and satellite imagery show widespread canopy disturbance; he reported an estimated 35 wildfires during fiscal year 2023-24 that burned about 16.54 acres, with a five-year average of about 38 wildfires per year. He said the largest fire he reviewed during the briefing had been about 4 acres. Carpenter also reported that firefighters protected 13 houses during the period and said estimated emergency costs were about $2,370,000 with replacement values for those structures about $2,790,000.
Carpenter and other staff described the U.S. Department of Agriculture emergency forest restoration program, which they said can reimburse up to 75 percent of planning and restoration costs for eligible work such as logging roads, fuel reduction and erosion control. Carpenter said the county has identified damaged timber areas and is working with the Forest Service and federal partners on mapping and potential grants.
Staff also outlined programs for private landowners, including a fuel-removal program and regional mitigation crews. Carpenter said the region has requested a 22-person crew to be stationed across the mountain region to assist with firefighting and fuel-mitigation work; he recommended adding county capacity because a single full-time ranger is stretched thin. Dylan Moody was introduced as the county's new smoke chaser, who started the day of the meeting.
Carpenter and staff emphasized that landowners must take the first steps to reduce fuels around homes and that much of the damaged brush and small fuels will remain a heightened fire threat for years. They said some federal programs require planning steps and that work on public lands will likely proceed through forest-service actions including salvage cuts. The ranger said the county plans aerial flights to better quantify timber loss and continue to pursue federal grants and technical assistance.
Ending: Staff asked the board to consider funding or positions to bolster local wildfire response capacity and said they will return with more precise acreage and cost estimates when additional assessments and flights are completed.
