Wildfire Prevention in Skagit County

 

Assess the wildfire hazard level on your property.  Use this form to asses your wildfire risk.
Wildfire Hazard Assessment Checklist
For assistance with this form or improving the safety of your home/property, please contact Jenny Hinderman at the Skagit Conservation District.  (360) 428-4313 or jenny@skagitcd.org

 

Wildfires in Skagit County

Wildfires are a serious threat across our state, and believe it or not, in our very own county.  How can wildfires occur in our area when “it rains so much, and the trees are too wet to burn?”  The reality is that anywhere there is a heat, oxygen, and fuel source, a fire can and will burn.  Wildfires are a natural part of the environment; they are going to occur.  Wildfires can occur anywhere that conditions such as fire-prone vegetation and patterns of dry and windy weather exist.  Spread throughout Skagit County are areas considered high-risk for wildfire.  These areas are where homes and communities border forested areas of the county, referred to as “wildlands.” 

As the population of Skagit County grows and more and more people move out into the forested lands it is important that we properly educate and prepare ourselves to be responsible stewards of our land.  Part of being a good land steward is managing for healthy forest ecosystems that include wildfire as a component. 

As we prepare our homes and landscapes to survive a wildfire we are accepting the responsibility for our own safety and being proactive rather than reactive.  This adds value to our homes, saves money and time, and possibly lives and homes.  Whether these efforts are individual or community-based, they show a respect for the land, your neighbors, and the community. 

There is a multitude of information available on how to improve the wildfire safety of your home and property as well as how to work as a community to achieve these goals.  Please visit www.firewise.org for this information and/or contact Jenny Hinderman, Firewise Program Coordinator, at the Skagit Conservation District at (360) 428-4313 or email jenny@skagitcd.org.

   

It Starts with Education

Recognizing the need to prepare our community for the possibility of wildfires, the Skagit Conservation District, along with Skagit County, and Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), have teamed up to bring the FIREWISE program to the residents of Skagit County.  Under the FIREWISE program, Skagit County community leaders deliver fire prevention education, host workshops to help citizens learn to recognize wildland/urban interface fire hazards, design FIREWISE homes and landscapes, and incorporate FIREWISE planning into existing and developing areas of communities.  If you’d like to have a Firewise presentation or workshop in your community, please contact either Jenny Hinderman, Firewise Program Coordinator, at the Skagit Conservation District.

FIREWISE Origins

FIREWISE is sponsored by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). Members of the NWCG are responsible for wildland fire management in the United States . They represent the USDA-Forest Service, the Department of Interior, the National Association of State Foresters, the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Protection Association. The NWCG's Wildland/Urban Interface Working Team directs the FIREWISE program.  In Washington State , the program is administered through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.  For more information on the FIREWISE program in Washington , please visit www.firewise.org/wa

  

FIREWISE Communities

 

Within the FIREWISE organization, there is a recognition program called “FIREWISE Communities USA” that enables communities in all parts of the United States to achieve a high level of protection against wildland/urban interface fire, as well as sustainable ecosystem balance.  The program adapts especially well to small communities, developments and residential associations of all types. FIREWISE Communities USA incorporates efforts of homeowners, communities, federal and state agencies, and tribes.  It includes landscaping, home construction and design, community planning, forest and land management.  Currently, there are 27 recognized Firewise Communities in Washington State.  For information on the FIREWISE Communites in Washington, please visit http://www.firewise.org/usa/.

FIREWISE Landscaping

The Skagit Conservation District holds an annual plant sale every spring in March.  At the sale there are FIREWISE plants available that are recommended for landscaping in wildfire prone areas.  Materials with landscaping suggestions for a FIREWISE home are made available at the plant sale.  For information on our annual plant sale, please visit our web homepage and/or see the winter edition of our newsletter.  Also, there are free books on fire resistant plants and landscaping available through the Conservation District.  Please contact Jenny Hinderman (see contact information below) if you would like one of these books.

If you have questions, or for more information on wildfire prevention programs in Skagit County, please contact the Skagit Conservation District at (360) 428-4313, or email jenny@skagitcd.org  

 

FIREWISE Plants

Vine maple

Red mountain maple

Sugar maple

Red alder

Paper birch

Kousa dogwood

Oregon ash

Pacific crabapple

Garry oak

Serviceberry

Kinnickinnick

Wild Strawberry

Salal

Oregon grape, tall

Mock orange

Red flowering currant

Wood’s rose

Hooker willow

Snowberry

Red osier dogwood

 

Links :

Washington State Department of Natural Resources Fire Prevention & Fuel Management Mapping System

http://www3.wadnr.gov/dnrapp5/website/fmanfire/viewer.htm

Skagit County Department of Emergency Management’s Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan http://www.skagitcounty.net/Common/asp/default.asp?d=EmergencyManagement&c=General&p=2003NHMPFinaltoc.htm

FIREWISE - www.firewise.org

FIREWISE in Washington State - www.firewise.org/wa

To report a wildfire - 1-800-562-6010