Sammie Davis assists the Bitterroot Hotshots with a backburn on the Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado in August.
Courtesy
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began its Prescribed Burn Program in 2021 and has since partnered with agencies and organizations to assist with burns across the state. However, the DNR expects the recent federal funding cuts and layoffs in the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to affect the capacity for prescribed burns and the upcoming wildfire season.
“We’re not able to sort of predict what that impact is going to be, but … it would be illogical to assume that there won’t be any type of negative impact,” DNR wildfire communications manager Thomas Kyle-Milward said. “So there will be some negative impact. We’re still figuring out what that will look like.”
Prescribed burns, also called controlled burns, are a tool used to mimic the natural fire regime that occurred before settlers began actively suppressing fire across landscapes. The burns help improve ecosystem quality and reduce fuel load, preventing wildfires to gain speed and size.
DNR forest resilience spokesperson Will Rubin explained that while most prescribed burns occur in Central and Eastern Washington, they still benefit residents in Snohomish County by reducing the negative impacts of wildfires.
“Even though they may not see prescribed fire at the scale and scope that you might see in Spokane County, for example, it’s important,” Rubin said. “It does have a positive impact on Snohomish County’s residents, even if it’s not something they’re physically seeing at the time.”
Last July, the DNR implemented a burn ban that lasted through September due to persistent and dangerous burn conditions, preventing the agency from performing controlled burns during that time. Additionally, the spring burn season has been slow to start due to weather, meaning there has been an accumulation of fuel load on forest floors.
“Just kind of looking at the factors – hot, dry, potential fuel carryover from the last couple of years – definitely lends itself to the potential for above average season for (wildfire) activity,” Kyle-Milward said.
In addition to the strain on resources the DNR is expecting from the upcoming wildfire season, Rubin and Kyle-Milward explained that, because of federal funding cuts and layoffs, local and state agencies will potentially have a heavier workload this year carrying out controlled burns and fighting wildfires.
“It is going to have to be work that is picked up by other folks, because we can’t just have fires left alone. That would be a danger to the public,” Kyle-Milward said. “So essentially, the moves that we’re seeing at the federal level ultimately will be costs that are handed off to someone else to have to pay.”
To aid in wildfire prevention, Kyle-Milward advised Snohomish County residents to mitigate potential fire sources by taking preliminary steps, such as cleaning out gutters and having a defensible space surrounding their property.
The Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management is working with partner organizations to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan over the next two years. The plan aims to address wildfires and build resiliency on both community and ecological levels.
To learn more about wildfire safety and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, Snohomish County residents can attend two meetings in May held by the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management. The first meeting is May 15 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Stillaguamish Conference Room, City of Arlington Public Works Office, 154 W. Cox Ave., Arlington. The second is May 22 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Startup Event Center, 14315 366th Ave. SE, Startup. To learn more about the Community Wildfire Protection Plan project: www.bit.ly/SnoCo_CWPP
Separately, Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue will hold a wildfire preparedness class Tuesday, May 7 from 6 to 7 p.m. at its headquarters, 163 Village Court, Monroe. To register, go to www.srfr.org
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