Environmental Education

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Jul 21

[ARCHIVED] Grant Award to Help Landowners Reduce Risks of Wildfire

The original item was published from July 21, 2016 8:25 AM to July 21, 2016 8:25 AM

Through a recently awarded grant from the Washington State Conservation Commission, the District is happy to announce that we will be launching a Firewise program to help private landowners prepare their properties in case of wildfire. The implementation of this grant will focus on the community of Greenwater, which is a "High Hazard Area" according the Department of Natural Resources when it comes to wildfire.

Increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in Washington State, increasing populations in rural and suburban areas, and drought, make it vitally important that private landowners be prepared for wildfire. The Firewise program is an educational program providing important information for private landowners and communities about actions they can take to prepare for and prevent damage from wildfire.

Home and Fire
Flames surround a house on a hillside in August near Cle Elum, Wash. The Taylor Bridge fire blackened more than 36 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 structures. The Associated Press

These grant funds will be used to do site assessments of homes in Greenwater and fuels reduction work to create defensible space around a limited number of homes in the community. Additionally, the District will be providing two or three days of wood-chipper service so that community members who are capable of doing their own thinning work to reduce fuels will be able to have the waste materials hauled away for free.  

Additional communities that we hope to benefit with outreach and education as well as wood-chipper service days include Buckley, Wilkeson, South Prairie, and McKenna.

District staff will work with the community of Greenwater, Pierce County Fire District #26, Skagit CD, the Natural Resource Conservation Service Puyallup Field Office, and local Dept. of Natural Resources staff to develop and implement this program. District staff will spend the fall and winter months getting training on the Firewise program with outreach and implementation beginning in the early Spring of 2017. 

For more information about our Firewise program, contact Chrissy Cooley, ChristineC@piercecountycd.org.