A message from your neighbor: Chris England

Hello neighbors, I need to report to Firewise the hours and $ we are spending to prepare our community for wildfire. I do this every year as it is part of the application process to stay “In good standing”.

So If you have labored to clean the fire fuels away from your buildings, replaced cedar roofing with fire resistive roofing, or anything that would harden your place against wildfire in 2023 I would appreciate you sending me an estimate of the hours or money you have spent. We don’t need to present receipts, our good word is enough. I just add it all up and submit it to the Firewise people.

Thank you,

Chris England

A great big “thank you” to the Englands for hosting the August 26 Firewise Meeting for our community. It was very informative, and several neighbors asked that I share notes from that meeting here as a point of reference. Please keep in mind that the following are the notes I took personally from the meeting, and this is certainly not a complete record, but it’s a start.

For questions or more information, please contact the following professionals who spoke that day:

Okay, here’s my notes:

From Amanda’s talk:

• Wildfire risk in western WA is increasing
• Ignition sources that are risks to homes include: crown (tree canopies), surface, embers (airborne). Embers are the #1 cause of home destruction from wildfires.
• Approximately 100 feet around your home is where to focus, it’s what’s referred to as the “Home Ignition Zone”
• Some tips:
  • Very important to keep your roof and gutters clean. It’s probably a good idea to start cleaning them at the start of each summer and maintain throughout the wildfire season.
  • Also keep your decks clean and clear of debris.
  • Might want to consider smaller than standard vent screens (8th inch).
  • Prune branches close to the house.
  • While your away, put away potted plants and furniture, especially if it’s near windows and doors.
  • Wood siding is fine, it’s more about what’s against it.
  • Keep an 8-inch gap around your house (i.e. bushes, etc shouldn’t be touching the sides of your home)
  • Consider your landscaping within the first 5ft of your house = should be non-flammable.
  • Break up vegetation so there’s not a continuous surface path for fire to travel to your house. Look around your space: break up any continuous flammable fuels. Look for ladder fuels and break it up.

More tips & other details can be found on the Firewise.org website, and a lot was covered in handouts which are reflective of what can also be found here.

Amanda will provide individual home risk assessments and the Conservation District offers cost sharing programs to help harden your home against wildfires. Contact Amanda for more information.
*Note: The Conservation District is educational, non-regulatory, and confidential.

From Nichole’s Talk:

• Nichole will also provide individual walk throughs to answer your questions, and afterwards you’ll be provided with a report which you can choose to use for applying for DNR cost sharing programs, if you wish.
• They have a list of contractors who they’ve worked with in the past, and if you have a contractor you prefer, you can simply ask them to apply to be approved as part of the program – it’s a very simple process.
• DNR also provides a stewardship program, and will help with invasive species control.
• Spring/Summer is Nichole’s (and Amanda’s) busiest times, so if you don’t mind doing walk throughs in the colder months, they tend to be more available then.

Contact Nichole for more information.
*Note: This DNR program is also educational and non-regulatory.

Additional notes and reminders provided by community members:

• Our well is powered by electricity, and if there’s a wildfire here the power will likely go out. So we don’t want to all rush out to water our houses and roofs = that will run us out of water very quickly. Better to reserve the water for the firefighters.
• If you get an evacuation notice – don’t ignore it. Get yourself out of harm’s way quickly and evacuate as directed.

There was so much more information provided at the meeting that I didn’t get captured. So be sure to review www.firewise.org and contact Nichole and Amanda to talk to you about the specifics of your property.

Take care friends!

Paula