Submitted by Thomas Daly
As snow begins to fall, the threat of wildfire tends to fade from our everyday concerns. Recall, however, that some of Washoe County’s most destructive wildfires have occurred in November and January, including the two devastating Caughlin Ranch wildfires, the Washoe Drive wildfire and the more recent Callahan wildfire. More than five dozen Washoe County homes were damaged or destroyed in those fires, despite the valiant efforts by area firefighters.
Fire season is never really over.
The impact of those wildfires has resulted in a cascading series of non-renewals or cancellations of homeowners’ insurance by Farmers, Allstate and Travelers, to name a few. If not cancelled, premiums have soared as much as 1000% for property owners and homeowners associations in some parts of our county, notably Incline Village.
Our state insurance commissioner has been a toothless regulator. Our state assembly members and senators have been silent on the crisis, save for “woe is me” hand-wringing. Where is the legislative fix for this conundrum?
Our county’s wildland code rates communities as to their wildfire hazard risk as low, moderate, high or extreme—see Washoe Regional Mapping System—with some insurance companies making their underwriting decisions based thereon. For HOA communities, a concerted effort at fuels reduction can result in those ratings being lowered and being designated as having a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), one step toward helping to ensure reasonable insurance coverage and premiums. See How to Complete a Community Wildfire Protection Plan for Nevada Communities, for details.
Our county and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District wildland code also recommends, but does not require, homeowners and HOAs to adhere to defensible space criteria—the removal of combustible vegetation and other materials—within specified distances from homes and related structures. How many more disastrous wildfires need to occur before these recommendations become requirements, especially in locales rate high or extreme?
Your government is not coming to help you.
Fuels reduction, whether by individual property owners or HOAs, is the most productive wildfire prevention step that can be taken. It’s not a cheap proposition at about $1,000 per acre cleared using machine mastication and even more if hand crews are used. But what is the alternative? Even if adequately insured, your out-of-pocket deductible for a fire loss will likely be in the tens of thousands of dollars. In the most recent wildfires, most homes with the requisite defensible space were spared destruction, while those without went up in flames.
“It can’t happen to me,” is a phrase well worn…until it happens to you.
Only you can prevent wildfire damage.
Thomas Daly is a resident of Washoe County.
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