LC to update Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Working in conjunction with Lincoln County, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have launched the process of updating the county-level Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Local agencies and organizations in Lincoln County have initiated a planning committee to complete the wsork as part of the National Fire Plan, the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act as authorized by Congress and the White House. The Lincoln County plan will include risk analyses with predictive models indicating where fires are likely to ignite and how they may impact local communities and the environment. The first meeting was held December 16, 2015 and was the first of several monthly meetings. Anyone is welcome to attend these meetings.

Northwest Management, Inc. has been retained by the DNR and BLM to facilitate meetings, conduct field inspections and interviews, develop vulnerability assessments and collaborate with the committee to delineate mitigation projects. The planning committee includes representatives from local fire districts, Lincoln County, DNR, National Park Service, BLM, and others.

The intention of the project is to conduct an assessment of wildland fire risk in Lincoln County and the local communities, then make mitigation recommendations that will not only help prevent wildfire ignitions from occurring but will also guide decision-makers towards creating a more fire-resistant Lincoln County and provide for public wildfire education. Some of the goals of this project are to improve awareness of wildland fire issues locally, identify high fire-risk areas and develop strategies to reduce this risk, and improve accessibility of funding assistance to achieve these goals.

The planning committee will be conducting public meetings to discuss preliminary findings and to seek public involvement during the planning process during late spring of 2016. A notice of the dates and locations of these meetings will be posted in local news outlets. For more information on the Lincoln County Community Wildfire Protection Plan or if you’re interested in participating on the planning committee, please contact Brad Tucker, Northwest Management, Inc., at 208-883-4488 ext. 117.