PACKET: BOCC Special Meeting - Community Wildfire Plan at Wed, Jun 21, 08:30 AM

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Jefferson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Advisory Group Meeting 1

Topic Summary

This special meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners details the initial phase of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) development process, led by SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA). The purpose of the meeting is to introduce the project, discuss preliminary survey results regarding local wildfire concerns, review the process, and establish the roles and desired outcomes for the Advisory Group, which is intended to provide crucial local input and expertise. The CWPP aims to improve wildfire resilience, mitigate risks, and enable access to necessary grant funding.

Key Points

  • The CWPP's foundation comes from the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 and focuses on collaboration, identifying and prioritizing hazardous fuel treatments, and identifying measures to reduce structural ignitability.
  • The plan makes recommendations but does not mandate actions, prioritizing fuel reduction (Resilient Landscapes), structural ignitability (Fire Adapted Communities), public education, and fire response capabilities (Safe and Effective Wildfire Response).
  • A key goal of the CWPP is to secure access to grant funding and track improvements in community resiliency and project completion.
  • Preliminary survey results (13 responses) identified the communities with the greatest wildfire risk as Brinnon, Quilcene, and Port Ludlow.
  • Four areas were identified as Extreme Concerns regarding wildfire safety and preparedness: personnel (adequate staffing), firefighting equipment, human ignitions, and ingress/egress routes.
  • High Priorities for Mitigation/Prevention Strategies include enhancing community involvement, evacuation planning, increasing staff levels, upgrading firefighting equipment, and increasing public education.
  • The Advisory Group’s role includes representing their jurisdiction, providing local expertise, assisting with data, engaging stakeholders, developing implementable project recommendations, implementing projects after CWPP approval, and tracking project accomplishment.
  • The main CWPP document outline is aligned with the National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy and includes chapters on Introduction, Fire Environment, WUI Risk Hazard Assessment, Mitigation Strategies, and Monitoring and Evaluation.

Financials

  • None specified. (The document notes that accessing grant funding is a goal, but no costs or budgets for the plan development or suggested projects are provided.)

Alternatives

  • None specified.

Community Input

  • The meeting includes a standard 10-minute public comment period for all topics starting at 8:31 a.m.
  • Comments or correspondence can be submitted via email to [email protected] until 11:59 p.m. the day before the meeting.
  • A Community Survey, hosted on the CWPP "Hub Site," is part of the public outreach strategy.
  • Four public engagement meetings (Mixed Virtual/In-person) are scheduled for August/September 2023.

Timeline

  • May 2023: Kick-off Meeting and Identify Advisory Group Membership (Completed)
  • June 2023: Advisory Group Meeting #1 (Virtual, 2 hours)
  • July 2023: Establish Community Base Maps
  • July/August 2023: Develop a Community Risk Assessment
  • August 2023: Data Gathering and Management
  • August/September 2023: Conduct Stakeholder Interviews (Virtual)
  • August/September 2023: Advisory Group Meeting #2 (In-person Workshop/Retreat)
  • August/September 2023: Host Public Engagement Meetings (x4)
  • August/September 2023: On-the-ground Structural Hazard Assessments (Late Summer–Fall 2023)
  • December 2023: Advisory Group Meeting #3 (Virtual, 2 hours)
  • December 2023: Develop Mitigation Strategies and Actions
  • December 2023: Task 8 (Draft CWPP)
  • December 2023: Task 11 (Evacuation Modeling and Planning)
  • February 2024: Virtual Final Draft Delivery
  • February 2024: Development of Esri Hub Site

Next Steps

The Board and Advisory Group are engaging in discussion and potential action regarding Advisory Group questions and answers related to the CWPP. Immediate next steps for the project include data gathering, establishing community base maps in July 2023, and developing the community risk assessment by July/August 2023, followed by subsequent Advisory Group and Public Meetings.

Sources

  • Kate Dean - District 1 Commissioner
  • Heidi Eisenhour - District 2 Commissioner
  • Greg Brotherton - District 3 Commissioner (Chair)
  • Emily Geery - SWCA Project Manager
  • Vicky Amato - SWCA Principal Fire Planner/Subject Matter Expert
  • Michaela Bartosh - SWCA Assistant Project Manager
  • SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) - Contractor/Consultant
  • Healthy Forest Restoration Act 2003
  • LANDFIRE (Vegetation data credit)
  • IFTDSS (Specific fire behavior modeling data credit)
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1144 - Assessment standard for structural ignitability

Technical Mapping and Risk Assessment Methodology for CWPP

Topic Summary

SWCA Environmental Consultants presented the various types of geospatial (webmap) and analytical data being utilized or gathered to develop the CWPP, including mapping existing values at risk (cultural, natural, socioeconomic, critical infrastructure) and technical fire behavior models. The methodology includes both desktop assessments using fire behavior modeling outputs (e.g., flame length, rate of spread) and on-the-ground assessments using the NFPA 1144 standard to rate community risk (low, moderate, high, and extreme).

Key Points

  • Desktop Assessments involve wildfire hazards analysis using fire behavior modeling based on inputs (fuels, weather, topography) and resulting outputs (flame length, rate of spread, crown fire potential, burn probability).
  • Technical data maps presented include: General Location, Land Ownership (BIA, BLM, USFS, USFWS, NPS, Private, State), Existing Vegetation Cover, Burn Probability, Crown Fire Activity, Fire History (1900–2022), Fire Incidents (1970–2023), Fireline Intensity, Fire Response (Fire Districts), Flame Length, Standard Fire Behavior Fuel Models, and Rate of Spread.
  • Values at Risk maps delineate:
    • Cultural Values: Cemeteries, NRHP sites/buildings/districts, and Tribal Lands.
    • Natural Values: Critical Habitats for specific species (Bull Trout, Chinook salmon, Killer whale, Marbled murrelet, Northern spotted owl, Taylor’s Checkerspot, Sockeye salmon, Island marble Butterfly), Protected Areas, Parks, Dams, and Trails.
    • Socioeconomic/Critical Infrastructure: Airports, Fire Stations, Law Enforcement, EMS, Hospitals, Landfills, Schools/Colleges, Power infrastructure (Substations, Powerplants, Transmission lines, Powerlines, Pipelines), and Communication sites/towers.
  • On-the-ground Assessments are planned for late summer–fall 2023 for fuels ground-truthing/calibration and NFPA 1144 assessments.
  • The NFPA 1144 structural ignitability assessment includes scoring metrics for: Means of Access (Ingress/Egress, Road Width, Road Conditions, Fire Access), Vegetation (Fuel Models), Roofing Assembly (Class A, B, C, Unrated materials), Siding Materials, Deck/Fencing materials, Building Setback, Available Fire Protection (Water Sources/Type), Organized Response distance, and Utility Placement (underground vs. above ground).
  • Data Needs identified for effective planning include spatial data (water suppression sources, existing evacuation zones/routes, fuel treatment data, fire history data) and background documents (fuels plans, fire management plans, emergency operations plans, hazard mitigation planning).

Financials

  • None specified.

Alternatives

  • None specified.

Community Input

  • None specified.

Timeline

  • June 2023: Base Map creation/access (Esri ArcGIS Online, IFTDSS data accessed)
  • Late Summer–Fall 2023: On-the-ground Structural Hazard Assessments/Fuels ground-truthing

Next Steps

Staff and consultants will proceed with data gathering, fire behavior modeling, and planning the on-the-ground assessments (NFPA 1144) scheduled for late summer/fall 2023.

Sources

  • SWCA Environmental Consultants
  • IFTDSS (Integrated Hazard/Fire Behavior data source)
  • LANDFIRE (Vegetation data source)
  • Esri ArcGIS Online (Base Map source)
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1144 - Structural ignitability assessment standard

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