UPCOMING: - Tuesday, September 13th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - 2:00pm/7:30pm at the Courthouse - Tuesday, September 20th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' ZONING WORK SESSION 6:00pm at the Courthouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RURAL NELSON MINUTES WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7TH, 2005 RURAL NELSON OFFICE NEXT MEETING: WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5TH 7:30 p.m. Conny opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. and we all introduced ourselves. Conny then introduced our speakers for the evening, Eddie Embry, Lou Murray and Boyd Ritchie from the Virginia Department of Forestry. Their subjects were fire-wise building techniques for forested areas and ways to safeguard your existing home from forest fires. Eddie Embry started off by talking about the wildlands/urban interface, i.e. where city and country come together. California epitomizes the problems that arise when population pushes hard on wildlands. He reminded us of the fires in Florida in 1998, when there was nothing that could be done to control the fires. The main thing to remember is that the first priority is to save lives - those of the occupants of the house and those of the firefighters, and secondarily to save property. A wildfire raging out of control could happen in Virginia; wildfires are not restricted to the western part of the U.S. Homeowners are not concerned enough about how to make their homes safe from fire. Nelson County officials and Wintergreen management know that fire is the worst thing that could happen on the mountain at Wintergreen. Management there is now taking this into consideration in what it requires of developers. Next Eddie turned the meeting over to Boyd Ritchie. Boyd's job is to be a salesman for the programs the Department of Forestry offers citizens. Wildfires can and do happen both in the Shenandoah Valley and in Nelson County. The biggest cause of fires is manmade - fireworks, cigarettes, arson, debris burning. Lightning also causes fire. Arson increases when the weather is dry and arsonists know the damage will be great. The Rockingham County Project included homeowner education, fire department members contacting homeowners, and fire fighter training. Lou and Boyd go out to many different counties to assess their fire risk. They then have homeowner education meetings and help homeowners decide how to lessen their fire risk. Everything is education. Boyd then described the Afton Mountain Fire Anniversary Project (the fire started on 4/2/98). The Afton Mountain Fire grew large quickly, due to ice storm damage on the mountain. It ran right up to one house that didn't burn because it was made of stone. A tractor/plow unit did a good deal to help get the fire under control. Brush around a house can make it very vulnerable to fire. After the fire, Boyd used houses that had survived the fire to show homeowners how to make fire less of a risk. The Forestry Department arranged for trucks and chippers to help during the Anniversary Project. The Dooms Fire Department cooperated in the project and timber companies lent trucks and chippers for the project. Education, participation and cooperation mean that a great deal can be done to cut risk. The Forestry Department has a Mitigation Program going that consults with homeowners about their particular challenges. He spoke about the helpfulness of dry hydrants, which are pipes into a pond to which a fire truck can hook up in the case of a fire. Driveways should be at least fifteen feet wide and have fifteen feet of vertical clearance. Leaves should be removed from around a house. There should be a minimum of thirty feet of grass or space without dense trees next to a house. If a slope is involved, there should be a hundred and fifty feet without dense cultivation. Boyd and Lou will be glad to come and analyze your house for fire risk. The best-case scenario would be to have the forestry officials work with the developers and the architects at the very beginning of developments. All the firefighters are volunteers, and county budgets are under real strain, so avoiding problems through forethought is more valuable than ever. Spruces, pines, cedar, and arbor vita are all dangerous to have around houses. The oils they contain mean that fires can burn for weeks when fed by these species. Very long driveways compound the difficulties for fire departments. Citizens need to put pressure on supervisors to legislate fire safety for new developments. Most of the ways to make your own house less fire-prone are available without spending much money, by using common sense (no firewood stacked against the house, etc.) and by being willing to put sweat equity into it. The Forestry Service will be having a fire safety presentation at Wintergreen next year, aimed at real estate agents, county officials, and anyone interested. They have already made a presentation to the Nelson County Planning Commission, spurred on by local firefighters, but as far as they know, no action has come of it. Eddie said he had a fire in his house and, at the time, the road numbers of his address were posted at the end of his driveway, but they were small and hard to see. Firefighters had trouble locating his house. Numbers should be at least four inches high and also should be reflective. This is code at the moment. The numbers should be both at the turnoff from the state road, AND at the BEGINNING of your individual driveway. There is a dry hydrant program within the county. They do not recommend using the Rockfish River, because debris so often injures the pipe. They much prefer using ponds. There is money available to improve the road to ponds that are not easily accessible. The dry hydrant grants are free if the property qualifies. This is federal money administered by the state. Debris burning, usually in the spring, is the number one cause of fires in Nelson County. Spring is often windy, which serves to dry out the landscape. The supervisors will be working on a subdivision ordinance, which hopefully will include fire-wise requirements. (NOTE: For more information on protecting your home, visit http://www.dof.virginia.gov/fire/firewise-index.shtml The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Buford Hitz Secretary Copyright 2005 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - - Saturday, September 10th - Annual James River Clean-up. Registration for prizes and a safety talk will take place at the Wingina boat landing on Rt. 56 between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Come find a boating partner if you don't already have one. Half day volunteers can float down to the take-out at the James River Wildlife Management Area. All day volunteers will float from the James River State Park to Wingina in a batteau flotilla, with a batteau serving as a barge for any trash that is picked up along the way. Extra canoes will be available at the park. The event is sponsored by Friends of the James, Keep Nelson Beautiful, and the Blue Ridge Sierra Club. Come share the food, drinks, prizes, fun, and good company and show your appreciation for our wonderful James River. - Tuesday, September 13th Noon - 2:00pm "How to Start a Small Business" seminar conducted by The Central Virginia Small Business Development Center in the meeting room at the Library in Lovingston. $20 Fee. To register, call 434.295.8198 or email sbdc@cstone.net - Thursday, September 15th & September 22nd 7:30pm-9:30pm Nelson Grand Squares Club offering two weeks of twelve weeks of square dance classes free. Additional classes $3 each - no partner needed - Rockfish River Elementary School cafeteria. Call 540.456.6946 or 263.4745 for information. - Saturday, September 17th 10:00am - 12:00noon and Sunday, September 18th 2:00pm - 4:00pm - Friends of the Rockfish Watershed Tour and Open House. Tour the South Fork of the Rockfish River Restoration Project to learn about what was done, how it was done and why. Walk and enjoy the Rockfish Valley Loop Trail Phase I. Two miles south of Nellysford on Rt. 151 at the Rockfish River. Designated parking on the west side of the road. - Saturday, September 24th Noon - 6:00pm Oktoberfest featuring 20 microbrews and foreign beers at the John D. Evans Center behind the Mountain Inn at Wintergreen. Proceeds benefit Wintergreen Performing Arts. Advance tickets $10/$15 at the door includes 5 beer tasting tickets and mug. Extra tickets $1 each. Non-drinkers $5 in advance/$8 at the door includes two rootbeers. Food, crafts, chairlift rides and more for sale. - Monday, September 26th 6:00pm - 9:00pm Nellysford Community Planning Meeting at Rockfish Elementary School. Open to all. The purpose of the meeting is to develop a vision for the area from the intersection of Rt. 151 and Rt. 613 to the intersection of Rt. 151 and Rt. 664, with a focus on the gateway entrances as well as the Spruce Creek and town center of Nellysford. The planning will involve transportation, safety, economic development and landuse with an emphasis on small town development. - Sunday, October 9th 1:00pm-5:00pm - Harvest Festival and wine tasting at Cardinal Point Winery in Afton. Proceeds BENEFIT RURAL NELSON. Music provided by TigerLily and Mongrel. $20 admission includes wine glass and wine tastings plus all-you-can-eat barbeque pork. Local crafters, silent auction and more. Bring lawnchairs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This report, sent to over 600 Nelson County citizens, was made possible by the generous donations of Rural Nelson members and supporters. We need your help to continue this service. Please consider donating. Kim T. Cash Field Officer Rural Nelson, Inc. P. O. Box 401 (622 Front Street) Lovingston, VA 22949 434.263.5000 Email: info@ruralnelson.org www.ruralnelson.org