Wahkiakum residents become wildfire resilient

Last Thursday, May 29, over two dozen Wahkiakum County residents met in the sanctuary of the Hope Center to learn how to protect their homes against the ever-present threat of wildfire. Local Emergency Response Coordinator for Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services Brandi Beedle, and Emergency Management Coordinator for Wahkiakum County Austin Smith organized the event. The two invited Forest Resilience District Manager Dan Friesz from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to present on steps homeowners can take, as well as resources provided by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Friesz began the meeting with a video from the National Fire Protection Association, which demonstrated an encouraging amount of control that residents possess in the face of wildfire.

"We have great opportunities as homeowners to prevent our houses from igniting during wildfires," Dr. Jack Cohen explains in the video. "Most of our perceptions are that these big wildfires are something we can't do anything about; they're overwhelming. If huge organizations can't control the wildfire, how is it that somehow I can do something to my house to keep it from burning down? It's not a matter of controlling the wildfire, it's a matter of changing those conditions of the house and its immediate surroundings."

In the video, Dr. Cohen goes on to explain numerous studies he and his colleagues conducted to explore the relationship between a wildfire and a home destroyed by one. He found that the high-intensity flames - the chilling scenes we see on the news from time to time - are not actually what's responsible for a destroyed home. The leap from wildfire to house fire is generated by little opportunities existing within 100 feet from the house. Things like wicker chairs on the porch, firewood stacked up against the house, and leaves piled up in the gutters. The video offers several examples like these, as well as some quick tips for reducing liability.

"There's a lot of little things that we can do to our house and its immediate surroundings in order to reduce the ignition potential of that house," Cohen states.

Following the video, Friesz explained how the Department of Natural Resources involved themselves in prevention.

"To be proactive of what we're seeing in California and in Oregon is to help landowners improve the forest health," he said. Friesz's team at the DNR offers free home assessments, focusing on everything 100 feet out from structures.

"We do a lot of these," Friesz said. "We go to a neighbor that's requested a call and the word gets out and we have four or five landowners that kind of tag along and watch what we do."

As an example, Friesz pointed out a few specifics around the Hope Center, from highly flammable bushes to tree limbs that hang over gutters. "It's really eye-opening," he said. "There's tons of little things to talk about. Every little thing helps."

Freisz addressed financial assistance for those affected by wildfire, as well as funds available for prevention. To qualify for site visits and financial assistance, Friesz pointed out that you must be a small forest landowner, owning anywhere from ½ an acre to 5,000 acres. "The average landowner owns about 20 acres or less," he said.

Friesz then gave an overview of how financial assistance works, whether a landowner contracts the work out, or if they choose to get personally reimbursed for sweat equity.

This initial event is the start of getting Wahkiakum more fire resilient. Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services will be working with local fire departments to be able to do home assessments for any size of home or land in the community in the future. If you would like to get involved with this project, contact Brandi Beedle at beedleb@co.wahkiakum.wa.us or Austin Smith em@co.wahkiakum.wa.us.

To contact Dan Freisz for more information on service forestry assessment or financial assistance, email daniel.friesz@dnr.wa.gov.