Community Wildfire Safety Planning with 'Firewise'    

Wildfires pose a threat to homes near the forest, even in temperate western Washington. It takes only a few days of summer heat for forests to dry out enough to catch fire. This year wildfires burned on the borders of North Bend, Fall City and Buckley. Fortunately, these fires were caught before homes were destroyed. But in dry, windy weather fires can easily get out of control.

Before wildfire strikes, homeowners can help protect lives and property by using techniques for home siting, construction and landscaping that create a defensible space around structures. Free techical assistance with emergency planning and fire risk assessments are available to help residents create fire-resistant landscapes that enhance the beauty homes while keeping flames away.

Fire-safe landscaping

Learn tips for creating beautiful and fire-safe landscapes from our brochure, Fire Safety Tips for Rural Homeowners, read our list of fire-resistant plants for the Puget Sound Basin (PDF), or search our illustrated online Native Plant Guide for fire-resistant plants.

See Ciscoe on Fire!

Watch host Ciscoe Morris fight wildfire with flowers in this 20-minute video. Tips on colorful plant choices for fire-resistant landscapes.

Community fire planning

Community Fire Plans can help prevent the loss of lives, property and resources to wildfire while encouraging neighbors to practice sustainable forest management. Studies have shown that fire safe forests can also be healthy forests. Forests with sufficient growing space for trees are not only less susceptible to fire, properly managed forests are healthier and more drought tolerant that forests where trees are crowded together with many dead lower limbs or dry brush.

Through free neighborhood consultation sessions and personal visits, staff foresters and fire marshals help neighbors identify risk factors such as lack of fire truck access to their homes or fire prone vegetation growing too close to houses. To find out more, contact Kristi McClelland, King County Forester. These services are free to residents of unincorporated King County.

Wildfire Risk Assessments

Washington Department of Natural Resources has provided wildfire risk assessments for six areas in King County that were judged to be at high risk for wildfire. These areas include neighborhoods in the greater North Bend, Black Diamond/Green River Gorge, Cumberland, Kanaskat/Selleck, Lake Retreat/Rock Creek, and Snoqualmie Pass communities.

To learn more about how wildfire can affect your community or schedule a free neighborhood fire and emergency planning workshop, contact Kristi McClelland.

Community Fire Planning and Firewise in King County are funded in part by Federal funds allocated to counties under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.

Firewise Communities/USA is a national program that encourages local solutions for wildfire safety.  It is co-sponsored by the USDA Forest Service, US Department of the Interior, and the National Association of State Foresters.

This service page is provided by the King County Forestry Program.