Before After

Saturday, April 7th. There was a fire on Kings Way. It was .63 acres and
caused by debris burning. Someone was cleaning up their lot by burning
branches. They did not have a burning permit. It burned .16 acres on the
common area.

According to DNR Forester Ranger Brian Luebke, "This is a good example of how Lake Camelot's Firewise Program really made a difference in a real life fire scenario. Because of the brush and dead wood removed and chipped by Firewise volunteers, the fire was dramatically less intense and easier to suppress and contain than it could have been. If that fuel had not been removed the fire could have burned more of the common area and threatened additional homes nearby."

Lake Camelot Accomplishments 4/12/12
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Timeline & Awards

In 2006, Lake Camelot Firewise assessment and report were completed and Lake Camelot formed its Firewise Committee.
In 2007, Lake Camelot began their chipping program and had their first recognized Firewise Community.All 8 coalitions are now recognized Firewise Communities.
Lake Camelot was highlighted in WDNRfs Point of Origin newsletter summer 2007.

Lake Camelot was highlighted in WDNRfs Point of Origin newsletter fall 2008.

Lake Camelotfs guidelines were printed in a NFPA publication which is available nationwide.gSafer From The Start: A Guide to Firewise-Friendly Developmentsh (2009) highlights Lake Camelotfs recommendations and procedures as a good example for other Firewise Communities to follow.

Lake Camelot received a well-deserved Firewise Project Achievement Award from the national Firewise Program in 2010.

Nominated for 2011 West Central Wisconsin Natural Resources Award.

In 2011, Lake Camelotfs Environmental Day moves to the Rome Town Hall where it is cosponsored by the Town.

Fuels Work

Conducted approximately 182 chipping days to date. Chipping projects completed in approximately 20% of the common areas to date.

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Lake Camelot Firewise Program

Success Story

April 2012

Lake Camelot is a high-density lake development in the Town of Rome, Adams County, which consists of 37 subdivisions, totaling 2,260 lots. Approximately 400 acres of commonly owned, wooded property is mixed in throughout the subdivisions, bringing hazardous fuels into close proximity to homes. Prior to the introduction of Firewise, covenants required commonly owned areas to remain in their "natural" state, which resulted in massive amounts of dead standing and downed vegetation. This hazardous fuel affects the survivability of homes and creates hazardous working conditions for firefighting personnel should a wildfire occur. After the 2005 Cottonville Fire occurred just to the south of them, Lake Camelot was motivated to form a Firewise Committee to make their community safer. The emphasis of Lake Camelot's Firewise Program is the protection of people, homes and the natural beauty of the area and focuses on reducing the amount of hazardous fuels on the commonly owned properties. Lake Camelot has completed 35 chipping days on average per year since 2007 which equates to the clean up of approximately 20% of the common areas to date with plans to continue their efforts on an on]going basis. The benefit of their clean up effort was put to the test recently. On the afternoon of April 7, 2012, an absentee Lake Camelot property owner ignited a pile of branches on his vacant lot in a fire pit. He was cleaning up dead trees and brush to reduce the wildfire risk but unfortunately chose to burn on a day when the fire danger was "VERY HIGH" and burning was not allowed due to fire weather conditions. The fire burned on to the common area and was .63 acres in size. Four structures were threatened by the wildfire but were ultimately saved due to the quick suppression action taken by DNR fire control staff and the local fire department as they arrived on scene.

According to DNR Forest Ranger Brian Luebke, "This is a good example of how Lake Camelot's Firewise Program made a difference in a real life fire scenario. Because the brush and dead wood on the common area had been chipped by Firewise volunteers, the fire was dramatically less intense and easier to contain and suppress than it might have been". If the fuel load had not been reduced, the fire might have burned more of the common area and threatened additional homes nearby. In addition, the reduction in fuel load resulted in greater ease of suppression action. It was much easier for the equipment to plow on the common area where dead trees and brush had been chipped than it was on the private property which had piles of firewood and dead and downed trees. This wildfire incident highlights the fact that the Firewise program is very relevant to our high risk communities.

Wildfires do occur in these subdivisions and the hazard mitigation work that our Firewise Community partners do has the potential to keep a wildfire from becoming a disaster.

For more information contact Amy Luebke, Wildland]Urban Interface Specialist, at 715]421]7875.