Business Resiliency Initiative El Dorado County Wildfire: Too Close to Home
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Business Resiliency Initiative
El Dorado County Wildfire: Too Close to Home
A Valley Vision Learning Paper
Prepared by: Tammy Cronin with support from the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce, and officials and
staff of El Dorado County.
November 2014
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VALLEY VISION | Business Resiliency Initiative: King Fire Learning Paper valleyvision.org | November 2014
Contents
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Background ……………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
What’s at Risk? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Impacts of the King Fire: Direct and Immediate …………………………………………………………….. 4
King Fire: Long-term Effects …………………………………………………………………………………….…..... 5
Response and Recovery …………………………………………………………………………………….…………… 6
Sources ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Introduction
Increasing incidents of weather-related disasters – including severe storms, flooding, wildfire, extreme heat and
persistent drought – present an economic risk to businesses in the Capital Region. Damages from storms,
flooding, and heat waves are already costing local economies billions of dollars.i Resiliency planning can be of
major economic benefit to help the Region’s business community prepare for potential disasters and help
preserve its economy after a disaster strikes.
According to a Sacramento Bee article published November 2012, aside from New Orleans, Sacramento has the
greatest flood risk of any major urban area in America.ii To help increase awareness and preparedness for
business continuity risks faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Capital Region, Valley Vision
initiated the Capital Region Business Resiliency project in October 2014. The initiative will provide a toolkit of
interventions to help SMEs manage risks and enhance business resiliency. A strategic outreach campaign will
engage leaders from the business, government and community sectors to enhance preparedness for economic
resilience in light of weather-related disaster threats to the businesses community.
To understand what’s at stake, Valley Vision conducted an assessment of the economic and infrastructure effects
that El Dorado County businesses experienced in the aftermath of the massive King Wildfire that took nearly
three weeks to contain and destroyed almost 98,000 acres. This learning paper highlights some of the immediate
and longer term impacts of the El Dorado County King Fire. Compiled in partnership with El Dorado County
officials and the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, the purpose is to a share a real-world example of the
threats our region faces, too-close-to-home.
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VALLEY VISION | Business Resiliency Initiative: King Fire Learning Paper valleyvision.org | November 2014Background
El Dorado County is one of six counties contributing to the $100 billion economy in the Capital Region. El Dorado
is located to the east of Sacramento County and spans to the border of the California state line with Nevada.
Rich in natural resources, recreation areas, and boutique agricultural enterprises, El Dorado County’s economy is
supported by a steady stream of visitors passing through to taste wine, experience Apple Hill, explore its majestic
mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes, and discover unique towns and communities established at the time of
California’s historic Gold Rush. El Dorado’s economy is largely based on the small business establishments that supply
visitors and residents alike. More than 90% of the county’s businesses are small, employing 20 or fewer people.
Both Placer and El Dorado counties have dealt with the occurrence of more than one wildfire in 2014, a record
year for the outbreak of wildfire in California, made worse by the year’s historic drought. The mountainous
terrain of these counties in the Sierra-Nevada makes up the water-shed that supplies 60% of California’s fresh
water.iii Thus wildfire impacts not only the counties dealing with the immediate blaze of fire, but also impacts
people, communities, and natural resources throughout the six-county Capital Region and a large part of the
state. Some of these impacts include damage to infrastructure, loss of wildlife habitat, air pollution and carbon
emissions, damaged watersheds, and impacts to water quality.
What’s at Risk? Small and medium-sized
Small business is as critical to the entire Capital Region’s economy as
businesses are most vulnerable
it is to El Dorado County, accounting for more than 91% of the close There are approximately 60,000 businesses
to 70,000 businesses in the six county Sacramento Region in 2010. operating in the four-county Sacramento
At the same time, these small businesses are vulnerable to an Metropolitan Statistical Area (includes El
increasing threat of climate- and weather-related natural disasters – Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo
counties).
events such as drought, wildfire, flooding, extreme heat, and severe
Roughly 96 percent of these businesses
storms. Moreover, studies have shown that 40-60% of small have fewer than 50 employees, and they
businesses never reopen after a major disaster.iv account for nearly 50 percent of the private
sector jobs within the Metro area.
That’s why Valley Vision and its partners launched the Capital Region According to Agility Recovery and the US
Business Resiliency Initiative in order to help the small business Small Business Administration, an
sector navigate imminent risks. The intent of this initiative is to estimated 40-60% percent of small to mid-
sized businesses do not reopen following a
understand the impacts of these threats to the economy and its
major disaster.iv
businesses and to work to build capacity for managing economic risks 57 percent of small businesses have no
and business continuity in light of unpredictable weather and climate disaster recovery plan.v
threats. The King Fire, burning over 97,000 acres in El Dorado and The median cost of downtime from a small
Placer counties in September and October, 2014, serves as just one business affected by an extreme weather
event is $3,000 per day.v
example of the all-too-real risks our region and its communities face:
Becoming fully operational can take up to
Wildfire. 11.5 days on average.vi
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VALLEY VISION | Business Resiliency Initiative: King Fire Learning Paper valleyvision.org | November 2014Impacts of King Fire: Direct & Immediatevii
Direct and immediate impacts of the King Fire include damage to transportation and electric power
infrastructure, damage to structures and acreage, and impacts to agriculture and viticulture industry, air quality,
and natural resources.
Transportation related impacts included the closure of Highway 50 at one point while the fire blazed. This closure
occurred during the peak season for Apple Hill, a visitor destination that draws people from far and wide to enjoy
an autumn tradition: the fruits of the apple orchards and the many delicious treats derived from apples. With
Highway 50 closures and poor air quality due to smoke from the fire, an unknown number of potential visitors
changed their plans to visit the area.
In the aftermath of the fire, transportation officials noted that two roads were damaged as well as signage and
guideposts. The estimated total damages to transportation infrastructure include over $40,000 in road repairs
and signage replacement as well as unknown revenue losses from averted tourism.
King Fire Site Map
Electric Power infrastructure was also disrupted for the utilities serving the
area, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and the Sacramento Municipal Utilities
District (SMUD). While PG&E provides electric and natural gas service to
customers in El Dorado County, SMUD maintains important utility assets in
El Dorado County. More than 500 PG&E customers lost power during the
initial stages of fire. The utility moved quickly to restore power where possible
and to manage impacts to the system. Both utilities saw a tremendous
increase in the number of hazard trees needing to be cleared from utility
right-of-ways in the wake of the fire. PG&E’s system lost almost 30 power
poles, associated distribution lines, transformers and other equipment in El
Dorado County. A larger impact was felt in Placer County where, in addition
to a similar number of equipment losses, the impact was more severe due to
the loss of utility assets serving the Placer County Water Agency.
SMUD’s assets were impacted with the loss of high-voltage transmission lines
from its hydro generation reservoir, resulting in millions of dollars in lost
power. Fortunately, dams, conveyance, and other distribution assets were
largely unaffected. The King Fire burned almost 98,000 acres of land – the largest wildfire ever experienced in the
region. A total of 105 structures were lost, including 12 residences. Additional impacts included damage to 17
wells and 16 septic tanks. These losses will have some impacts on property tax revenue received by the county,
however the overall impact to tax revenue is expected to be small. Experts noted that the county was fortunate
in that damage done to structures could have been much worse given the severity of the fire. 23% of the King
Fire’s intensity blazed at the highest severity, quite a high percentage when compared to Yosemite’s 2013 Rim
Fire in which high intensity burning affected 7% of the total burn area. High intensity fire results in soil damage
that has negative long-term downstream effects in the watershed.
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VALLEY VISION | Business Resiliency Initiative: King Fire Learning Paper valleyvision.org | November 2014Chief concerns for El Dorado County include impacts to its important agriculture, forestry and viticulture
enterprises. In addition to damage to 33,000 acres of private forest, the 2014 fires impacted three vineyards
which suffered losses of approximately $46,000 including damage to generators and irrigation equipment. In the
Sand Fire, four acres of grapes were burned. Fortunately no grapes were burned during the King Fire, however
evacuations resulted in an inability to harvest grapes during peak harvest season which affected 17 acres and lost
revenues estimated as high as $95,000. In addition, grapes sustained damage from exposure to smoke and fire
retardants. Damage from fire retardant affected 15 tons of grapes and is expected to result in approximately
$80,000 in lost revenue. From a consumer point of view, exposure to smoke results in a chemical reaction that
can change the flavor of grapes. This could negatively impact sales of wine made from grapes exposed to smoke.
This impact will only be able to be assessed in the longer-term as wines from these grapes develop.
Other impacts on agricultural enterprises from fires include uninsured loss where growers did not have coverage
for some crops. Loss of head of cattle and acres of grazing land are other real concerns for the county which have
yet to be fully quantified.
Air Quality during the nearly three weeks of heavy fire caused concerns for public health. Two of the three local
hospitals treated patients for smoke-related illnesses. One of the hospitals received 2-3 patients daily throughout
the duration of the fire. The fire produced 190,000 tons of criteria pollutants and 2.3 million tons of greenhouse
gas emissions – an amount roughly equivalent to the total production of air pollutants from all sources in the
Sacramento area (mobile and stationary) over the course of one and
a half years. The El Dorado County Air Pollution Control Officer
noted emissions would have been 75% lower had fire burned in Widespread King Fire Repercussions
areas where fuels (vegetation) were cleared through proactive fire
Utilities delivery
prevention measures, including prescribed fire.
Air quality, carbon emissions and public health
Impacts to El Dorado National Forest lands from fire suppression Water districts and hydro-utilities
Agriculture and viticulture crop losses
activities include ecosystem damage resulting from 350 miles of
Roads and highways damage and closures
roads built through forests to move equipment to battle the fire. In Residents and businesses loss or damage
the fire’s aftermath, $5.3 million is needed to repair 190 miles of Forestland and watershed ecosystem damage
existing paved roads in the National Forest, and 45 miles of trails.
The high intensity of the fire caused severe damage to the vegetation and soil. Damaged soil doesn’t support
plant growth and becomes sediment that flows downstream through the watershed. Officials are highly
concerned about impacts of the hoped-for “normal water year” on the watershed due to the damaged it has
suffered, including the risk of landslide that will further degrade the quality of the watershed. Forest Supervisor
Lawrence Crabtree commented that the “assessment is sobering” for long-term damage to the watershed as a
result of the fire.
King Fire: Long-Term Effects
Federal, State, and County officials continue to assess the extent of the damage caused by fires, and further
economic impact analysis is needed. Long-term effects of concern include impacts on future tourism, damage to
the watershed, and its resulting impacts on water system assets and water quality.
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VALLEY VISION | Business Resiliency Initiative: King Fire Learning Paper valleyvision.org | November 2014In the burned areas, vegetation will not begin to recover for 3-5 years. It is unknown how this will impact the
decision of potential future visitors and if they will avoid the area as a recreation destination due to real or
perceived damage from fires. Loss of visitors will affect local businesses that make their revenue from supplying
rafters, hikers, campers and the like.
The assessment of damage to the watershed, which supplies 60% of the State’s fresh water supply, is severe. The
assessment team estimates it will be 7-10 years before the watershed will be stabilized. Of major concern is the
sediment from damaged soil. In a State suffering from drought, the hoped-for rains will be both a blessing and a
cause for concern. As the rain water flows through the watershed, it will carry with it sediment from the
damaged soil. As the sediment settles in water conduits and reservoirs, it will reduce the storage and conveyance
capacities of the water system. The impacts of sediment to water quality create risk to people and communities
downstream.
Response and Recovery
El Dorado County and its community partners have put in place several efforts to help address long-term recovery
and reduce future threat of wildfire. The Sustainable Forest Coalition continues to advocate for better forest
management policy to reduce risk and boost timber and biomass industries.
In addition, the County of El Dorado has formed several committees to support and oversee recovery efforts.
These include committees focused on: multi agency coordination; forestry and watershed; and economic
development, recreation, and infrastructure.
If any positive impacts can be garnered as a result of these fires, it might be the community’s response through
the duration of the event. Wide spread community support from churches
and county residents was noted. The outreach to support fire fighters
and impacted residents was heartwarming. Another positive impact Known Economic Impact
might be seen from experiencing a “close call” which serves as an
important reminder and call to action to prepare for a disaster before it $40,000 in county road repairs
occurs. $46,000 vineyard damages
$95,000 vineyard lost revenues
Valley Vision’s Business Resiliency Initiative will provide tools and $80,000 lost crops
information to help the small business community realize the risks they $5.3 million to repair roads and trails
face and understand the appropriate actions to take to help prepare and in National Forest
preserve their businesses when disaster strikes. Learn more.
i Gordon, K. 2014, June. Risky Business: Economic risks of climate change in the United States. Accessed 8/13/14 from http://riskybusiness.org/
ii
Weisner, M and Reese, P. 2012, November 18. What if a superstorm strikes Sacramento? Flooding danger puts the capital at risk of a disaster worse than
Sandy. The Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/news/weather/article2575974.html#storylink=cpy
iii
Source: Sierra Nevada Conservancy, 2014. The State of the Sierra Nevada’s Forests. http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/our-work/state-of-the-sierra
iv Source: Agility Recovery and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Accessed from http://www.preparemybusiness.org
v
Reynolds, L. (2013, July.) Climate Change Preparedness and the Small Business Sector. Small Business Majority and the American Sustainable Business
Council. Accessed 7/10/2014 from http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6269/images/Climate%20change%20biz%20report.pdf
vi PrepareMyBusiness.Org, US Small Business Administration, and Agility Recovery. (2014, July). The top 5 Risks for Business Disasters in America (Webinar).
Accessed 8/12/14 from http://agil.me/top5risks
vii
Unless otherwise noted, data points referenced in this paper are courtesy of in-person interviews held on October 15, 2014 with Laurel Brent-Bumb,
CEO, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce; Jim Claybaugh, Economic and Business Relations Manager, County of El Dorado; and Charlene Carveth,
Agriculture Commissioner, County of El Dorado. Additional information was obtained from a report given to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on
October 14, 2014 on the recovery for the 2014 fires (Agenda Item #14-1405). Agenda, minutes, and video of that meeting can be found at
http://eldorado.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2
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