Thursday, March 28, 2024

Commissioner Franz introduces Wildfire Ready Neighbors program

Part of tri-county effort

Posted
WINTHROP – Okanogan County has borne the brunt of three of the largest wildfires in state history in just the past seven years. The 2014 Carlton Complex burned more than 250,000 acres. The following year the Okanogan Complex consumed 300,000-plus acres. Then last September the Cole Spring/Pearl Hill fires came close to burning 320,000 acres. Against that backdrop Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz came to Winthrop on April 19 to unveil Wildfire Ready Neighbors (WRN), part of House Bill 1168 which includes funding for wildfire response, forest restoration, and community preparedness strategies like WRN.
Pateros Mayor Carlene Anders was among the three Methow Valley city mayors in attendance at the Okanogan County event, Twisp Mayor Soo Ing-Moody, and Winthrop Mayor Sally Ranzau. Anders recently testified virtually in support of HB 1168 that passed the House 95-1 on March 8 and received unanimous approval by the state Senate on April 10.
In an emotional statement about the new devastating face of wildfire today, Anders spoke about the loss of 150 homes in the Pateros School District during the 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire. 
“We had two-to-four students in every single class K through 12 that lost their homes and a fifth of our staff of our teachers here,” said Anders. “It hit this area so hard.”
Anders, who also witnessed the wildfire destruction in the town of Malden in Whitman County, said devastating wildfire is “now becoming common. It is the norm.”
“We’ve gone half of the six years with this kind of damage,” said Anders “and we cannot continue.”
Anders noted that volunteers had just completed rebuilding their last home lost on the Colville Reservation from the 2015 Okanogan Complex fire when the Cole Spring fire erupted last September burning scores of homes from Omak to Bridgeport.
“For communities like Winthrop that are on the frontlines of wildfire,” said Franz during her visit. “The unfortunate reality is that community preparedness is the last line of defense. We know that homes that prepare are safer and less susceptible to fire.”
“Wildfire Ready Neighbors is piloting in three high-risk counties this year: Chelan, Okanogan and Spokane,” said a DNR media release. “Chelan County, the first in the pilot program, launched April 5 in Wenatchee. Spokane County work kicks off April 30.”
Community members can sign up for the property preparedness program at wildfireready.com. A wildfire expert will visit their property and help the owners develop a detailed action plan that will include immediate steps to take plus information about local resources and contractors to help them get started. The goal of the program is to get participants across the three counties to sign up over six weeks. Okanogan County residents have until May 28 to do so.
HB 1168 was sent to Governor Inslee’s desk on April 23 for his signature. 
“The legislation comes on the heels of another devastating wildfire season where more than 812,000 acres burned across the state,” said a media release. “In September 2020 alone, more than 600,000 acres burned in 72 hours. And, during two of the past three wildfire seasons Washington had the worst air quality in the world due to wildfire smoke.”
 
Annual acres burned in Washington have grown from an average of 189,000 in the 2000s to an average of 488,000 over the last five years.
 
Senator Brad Hawkins whose 12th District takes in much of North Central Washington said HB 1168 took “a major step forward this session on forest health and wildfire response investments, establishing a legislative intent to invest $500 million over the next eight years for wildfire response, forest restoration, and community wildfire resilience.”
 
The bill commits $125 million every two years over the next four biennial budgets toward that goal. WRN, a component of HB 1168 “builds upon existing efforts, like those of Fire Adapted Methow Valley, the Okanogan Long Term Recovery Group and Firewise USA®, to encourage community engagement with renters, homeowners, and small forest landowners as they prepare their property for wildfire,” the DNR release said.
 
Okanogan County was already addressing wildfire preparedness with programs like Map Your Neighborhood and Firewise. Last fall the Okanogan County Long Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG), Okanogan County Emergency Management (OCEM), and NW Management Inc. scheduled a series of four virtual meetings across the county to update its Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) last revised in 2013.
 
The purpose of the meetings according to a CWPP media release, was “to better frame the region’s efforts doe wildland fire protection, resource enhancements, and emergency preparedness.” The sessions were scheduled for Sept. 15-16, but the unforeseen Cole Spring/Pearl Hill wildfires that started on Sept. 6 interrupted the Zoom meetings.
 
Anders said OCEM is heading up the CWPP effort but has postponed further meetings to concentrate on its Hazard Mitigation Plan. 
I know talking about wildfire is getting old,” said Anders, “but we need to continue to address it and to develop new programs to prepare for it.”

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