Tom McMackin
The 2023 wildland fire season is here and ready to roll! Please be safe enjoying our beautiful areas of the Gorge and all that it has to offer. Prepare for potential emergency events, particularly wildland fire, because it is a natural part of this environment and only a matter of when, not if, a fire will visit these places!
Firewise Actions – things you can do to prepare protection zones for a wildland fire:
Here is a brief reminder about the basic Firewise concepts you can put to work to help protect and provide wildland firefighters with a defensible property in order to increase their potential for success if a wildfire comes to visit.
1st – [ 0-5’ ] – Inspect your home and other structures from the top down / from foundation out 5 feet…
** Clean-up debris & Clear up materials these zones (Now!)
2nd – [ 5’-30’ ] – From your buildings’ foundations out into your surrounding natural vegetation areas
[30’ is a minimum buffer area between structures or other fuel sources for defensive firefighting & protection]
** Create ‘green’ water lawn or garden areas or clear underbrush, crowded clusters of brush or small trees
3rd – [ 30’-100’ ] – From the close-in Firewise buffers above – prepare your wild, rural environments.
** Clean-up & Clear up so the fire has little fuel available in the dry high grasses, weeds and brush.
Contact & resource information is provided for Firewise at the end of this article.
Klickitat County Code Chapter 8.24 – Burn Ban Regulations Amendment
On May 9, 2023 the Klickitat County Board of County Commissioners, after a Public Hearing, have approved a proposal to amend Klickitat County Code Chapter 8.24 to clarify the outdoorburning ban regulations in the unincorporated areas of Klickitat County. The primary focus of the amendment was to clearly define what outdoor burning is not, and what is allowed during a Klickitat County burn ban.
To view the approved amendment resolution, and the Burn Ban Code Educational Material please visit:
https://www.klickitatcounty.org/1244/Burn-Bans-and-Fire-Resources
Other Klickitat County emergency information:
Sign up for Emergency Notifications through our website
Klickitat County Department of Emergency Management
https://www.klickitatcounty.org/249/Emergency-Management
Prepare for Disasters – Be informed – Plan Ahead
www.klickitatcounty.org/986/Emergency-Preparedness
Firewise Resources on High Prairie:
Contact me, Tom McMackin, if you’d like more information on the ‘Firewise’ and ‘Ready, Set, Go!’ programs; if you have comments or suggestions; or if you would like to be more involved with the High Prairie Firewise effort. I can answer questions and get you connected with the resources we have available as a recognized Firewise Community. Contact me by email at Firewise.onhighprairie@gmail.com or by phone message by calling 509- 365-2786. Please, if you don’t receive a response from your email, call me!
Online resources:
Firewise – http://www.Firewise.org or http://www.Firewise.org/wildfire-preparedness/be-Firewise/home-and-landscape.aspx
Ready, Set, Go! – http://www.wildlandfirersg.org or http://www.wildlandfirersg.org/Resident
Preparedness & Evacuation
https://www.nevadacountyca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15855/Nevada-Couny-Evacuation-Guide—2015-PDF