SPANISH FORT, Ala. — After serving in Iraq for 12 months with the National Guard, Stanley Anderson has a new mission — getting the word out about “Firewise Communities.”

Anderson, a wild land/urban Interface coordinator for the Alabama Forestry Commission, gave a short presentation about Firewise Communities at a recent planning commission work session.

The goal of Firewise Communities is to have homeowners prepare their homes to withstand a wildfire without intervention of fire services, he said. From January 2007 to now there have been 172 Baldwin County wildfires which burned 3,885 acres of land, destroyed one house, one structure and a vehicle, according to an Alabama Forestry Commission official.

Forty-five homes were saved by direct control actions with no fatalities or severe injuries. Some areas under Spanish Fort’s planning jurisdiction have a high risk of wildfire, Anderson said.

Due to growth and development, the Alabama Forestry Commission is seeing more structures threatened, including homes, garages and outbuildings, Anderson said. He promotes Firewise Communities to cities because cities review plans of developers with their infrastructure plans and covenants.

Firewise can be used in existing developments, new developments and future developments, Anderson said. Cities need to look at current ordinances and then look at standards for Firewise and compare them and incorporate some of the National Fire Protection Association standards The Alabama Forestry Commission gets involved with natural resource partners, such as municipal and volunteer fire departments.

“We obviously support it,” Spanish Fort Fire Chief Roger Few said “It’s a worthwhile venture.”

Few said he has received some promotional grant material for the general public over the past few years which dealt with resident education as it deals with Firewise.

“Since Anderson was concerned about the development coming to Spanish Fort he wants to make sure that we included the previously high target areas for uncontrolled wood fires as far as regulations,” Few said.

Baldwin County is a fast growing county, Anderson said. He said developments around Spanish Fort include the The Highlands of Spanish Fort, which is 12,000 acres, and other developments that are within the five-mile planning jurisdiction beyond the Spanish Fort city limits.

With more homes adjacent to forest lands, forest fire fighters are spending more and more of their time defending structures, so fires continue to spread, he said. Though they do their best to protect structures and get assistance from volunteer fire departments, but with certain weather conditions and multiple fires, there may not be enough fire fighters, he said. Productive forests that have been previously managed by paper companies are more at risk because it has had prescribed burns periodically and has been thinned out.

Timberland owned by International Paper and Kimberly-Clark, formerly Scott Paper, has been sold and has not been managed as intensely as it was in the past, Anderson said. As a result there has been more growth of underbrush.

If homeowners have their homes prepared, homes can survive on their own, he said. For example, Anderson mentions there was one community in California that survived recent fires because they had adopted the National Fire Prevention Association Standards for landscaping, building materials and infrastructure guidelines. Anderson recommends that people choose plants that are not highly flammable for landscaping.

“What’s important in Firewise is that home owners recognize the dangers and they create what are called defensible zones,” Few said.

When property backs up to wooded area, residents need to trim trees and clear debris to create a “green space.” Homeowners need to recognize they may have a dangerous situation and rough terrain can create a danger zone, Few said. Anderson said that pruning trees and shrubs reduces the chance of surface fires getting into lower branches of trees and embers landing on roofs. Pines, junipers and cedars are highly flammable. Stacks of firewood, paint, grills, butane and propane tanks should be kept far away from homes, Anderson said.

Anderson, a forester for 31 years, said that the Alabama Forestry Commission can do risk assessments, preferably on subdivisions rather than whole cities. Cities are harder to assess because of the diversity, he said.

Priorities for assessment are looking at the fuel model of the vegetation and forests — if it contributes to a high rate of spread — what the flammability is and fire occurrence history. The state of Alabama began working on Firewise in 2004. Alabama has a new state forester, Linda Casey, and a new assistant state forester, Bill Baisden.

Anderson said Casey is interested in Alabama’s balance between growth and development and forest sustainability and related benefits.

“Homes are being built in what was normally fire prone areas that have a history of being susceptible to fires,” Anderson said.

The only certified Firewise Community in Alabama is Canterbury Estates in Bay Minette. Firewise Communities also fits in with Smart Code, as far as subdivision infrastructure and fire protection, Anderson said. An assessment can be done for any size community at no charge, he said.

Mayor Joe Bonner asked Anderson to do a presentation to a joint meeting of the city council and planning commission. A date has not been set yet.

“Development in Spanish Fort is about ready to kick into overdrive,” Anderson said.