02-25-19-R - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Ramsey County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2018 Page | 90 Wellhead Protection Plan – Municipalities that use well water have and maintain a Wellhead Protection Plan. This plan presents the actions that will be taken to manage potential contamination sources that may present a risk to the quality of the community’s drinking water. Program Gaps or Deficiencies Communications – Everbridge’s open subscription service was made available to the public in September 2016 (https://www.ramseycounty.us/alerts). However, not all residents have subscribed to or follow our Facebook page to receive important messages. Additionally, there are translation services for only three languages (Spanish, Somali, and Hmong). There are over 100 identified languages spoken in Ramsey County, and more than 50 are spoken preferentially in the home. Ramsey County Emergency Management and Homeland Security will, in cooperation/coordination with other partners, place an emphasis on increasing citizen subscription to Everbridge. Public Education – Develop an education and public awareness campaign (i.e., for water conservation measures and wildfire safety during periods of drought). 4.4.10 Wildfire A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire spreading through vegetative fuels, posing danger and destruction to property. Wildfires can occur in undeveloped areas and spread to urban areas where structures and other human developments are more concentrated. While some wildfires start by natural causes like lightning, humans cause 4 out of every 5 wildfires. Debris burns, arson or carelessness are the leading causes of wildfires. As a natural hazard, a wildfire is often the direct result of a lightning strike that may destroy personal property and public land areas, especially on national and state forest lands. The dangers from wildfire include the destruction of timber, property and wildlife, and injury or loss of life to people living in the affected area or using the area for recreational facilities. While wildfires are often viewed in a negative light, they are a naturally occurring part of the environment. Wildfires are an important component of healthy forest and prairie ecology, and can be beneficial by reducing dangerously high fuel levels and putting nutrients into the ground that spur new growth. In addition, many flora species require fire for seed germination. However, as people settled this country and began clearing land and building homes, roads, railroads, and campgrounds, new artificial causes of wildfire emerged and their frequency and level of destruction increased. Causes of wildfires vary from state to state. For example, in Florida, lightning ignites approximately half of all wildfires, while in Minnesota lightning causes less than 5% of all wildfires. These variations are due to climate, vegetation, topography, and weather. People burning debris cause most wildfires in Minnesota. However, wildfires are also caused by vehicle exhaust, sparks from trains and heavy equipment, camping, smoking, and lightning. Topography affects the movement of air and fire over the ground surface. The slope and shape of terrain can change the rate of speed at which the fire travels. Weather affects the probability of wildfire and has a significant effect on its behavior. Temperature, humidity and wind affect the severity and duration of wildfires. Homes threatened by wildfire are primarily those located in the “wildland-urban interface.” This is the zone where homes and subdivisions have been in wildland areas where natural wildfires can have an