FIREWISE

This FireWise article suggests a few important chores and a couple of planning tasks to consider as Fall rolls steadily toward Winter. 

Chores: 

*First item on your list should be pruning or removal of fallen tree debris, particularly pine and evergreen trees! 

Doing this work now until the first week of December will put you well ahead of the Ips beetles during their dormant period. Your trees will have the chance to heal and recover from any injuries before the beetles become active and reproduce, loading the bark of the pines with eggs, which will hatch into larvae, that will feed on the tree’s tender cambium layers. This developmental beetle stage leads to girdling the circumference of the tree and cutting off the flow of water and nutrients throughout the tree. The trees will die over the course of the next year or two. 

*Next – piling the trimmed debris away from the trees for chipping or burning may even attract egg laying beetles into the pile if temperatures warm early in the Spring, helping to reduce the number of beetles impacting your area! 

*Cleaning and preparing your tools & equipment for the tasks to come in the Spring Season. 

Tasks: 

*Plan for getting defensible – ready for the 2023 season! 

Start by taking the time to walk around your house, sheds, barns and other property that would be devastating to have to replace in the event of a wildfire impacting our community. 

*Create a punch list of FireWise things to do: 

In the areas next to your structures/property, begin by surveying out the first 5’, then continue out to 30’ from the foundation of each structure. This will put you ahead of the game come Spring. Items like cleaning the fall leaves, pine needles, etc., off your roof or away from the foundations are the places to start. 

*Consider reviewing things like the utility services [power pole] coming into your property, fencing that uses wood post or poles for corners, gates, supports or anchors. Make a note in your Spring FireWise plan to take preemptive actions like trimming grasses or clearing down to mineral soil (aka dirt) to prevent fire from coming up to any item you would hate to lose. A bare earth circumference 3 feet in diameter around a power pole, posts or other fencing materials should be good. Consider for a moment how long it would take Klickitat PUD to replace all of the poles in the grid and then into your home to restore your electrical services! 

It will be work well done, not ‘If’ but ‘When’ our community has a significant wildfire event! 

If you have any questions, desire FireWise or High Prairie Fire information, or have other comments or requests, please feel free to contact me by email at mcmackint@gmail.com or a phone call and voice message at 509-365-2786 home or 206-234-4141 cell. 

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