Glenrose neighbors work to reduce wildfire risk

The Glenrose Prairie neighborhood southeast of Spokane is taking up arms against wildfires.

In this case, the arms are mowers and chain saws, deployed during periods of cool and damp weather to remove brush and trees, lessening the risk that wildfire will spread to the homes.

Glenrose residents have banded together to join the Firewise fire protection program, a nationwide effort to help communities resist the threat of fire.

The focus of the program is on rural and semirural communities where wildlands and residential developments meet.

The program involves clearing brush, thinning timber, mowing grass, protecting propane tanks, installing fireproof roofing and otherwise cleaning most vegetation away from homes.

Glenrose is one of seven neighborhoods in Eastern Washington and two in North Idaho to be accepted to the program, which means residents in those locales have met the requirements to be considered officially as fire-wise.

More than 1,000 communities across the country have qualified as Firewise neighborhoods.

Bob Hyslop, who chairs the Firewise committee of the Glenrose Association, said he and many of his neighbors moved there to enjoy the natural beauty and rural lifestyle. But that comes with responsibility and fire risk, he said.

“I have a huge problem because I live right in the middle of the woods,” he said.

He said the Firewise committee is working to encourage all of the residents to take fire prevention and risk mitigation seriously.

“What it’s really all about is getting neighbors to help neighbors,” he said.

Richard Brooke, one of the Firewise supporters who lives on South Dyer Road, said he has limited the amount of landscaping around his home and mows the wild grass and other vegetation twice a year, usually after a rainstorm, to reduce risk of starting a fire with power equipment.

Many of his neighbors are doing the same – but not everyone.

The Spokane Conservation District, state Department of Natural Resources and local fire agencies are available to help residents start a Firewise risk management program on their property. DNR has funds available to offset 50 percent of the cost at (509) 684-7474 or at dnr.wa.gov.

The Firewise supporters said some residents are suspicious of government, so it’s been important for neighbors to spread the word about how important this program is to everyone.

“People have to get engaged and make that phone call,” said Brooke, who mows a 40-foot perimeter around his home.

Surveying the grassland beyond his fire perimeter, Brooke said, “Just a match and this stuff would take off.”

Ben Peterson, forester and arborist at the conservation district, said the run of fires this summer has kept him busy doing nearly 100 risk assessments, probably because more people now see the need to mitigate against fire because of all of the fire news.

He said that what is called the “wildland-urban interface” has become increasingly popular for home sites.

Fire risk mitigation “is extremely important,” Peterson said. “We live in a fire-prone ecosystem.”

Following recommendations works, he said.

“There’s a good chance your house will survive,” he said, although, “It’s not a guarantee.”

The homes that burned earlier this season in Wenatchee were built with cedar roofing. Fireproof or fire-resistant roofing is recommended in fire-prone areas.

The assessment takes up to an hour.

Here are some of the issues Peterson addresses:

• Access to the home should be on two driveways and the home should be less than 300 feet from the road. The driveway needs a 50-foot turn radius for firetrucks.

• Houses should be set back at least 30 feet from a ridgeline or hilltop.

• The house address should be clearly marked and the home should be visible from the road.

• Propane tanks should be 30 feet from the home with no flammable vegetation nearby. Also, wrapping them with an insulating blanket is a good idea.

• Wild vegetation – and some landscape plants – needs to be reduced or eliminated within 30 feet of the home, with a larger buffer on the southwest or downhill sides.

• Recommended vegetation includes many perennial plants, ground covers, annual plants and lawn as well as deciduous trees and shrubs, which are more fire-resistant.

Fire officials caution residents that during the current period of hot and dry weather, using power tools to reduce vegetation poses the risk of starting a fire. A mower striking a rock can give off a spark. That’s why the major work should be scheduled during cooler and wetter months. The job is easier on the body without high temperatures.

Also, extensive burn bans will remain in effect for the foreseeable future, officials said.

So far this year, Glenrose residents have spent $42,000 in cash and labor costs reducing fire risk. They also held a required community event in May in which 20 neighbors toured two properties and talked about mitigation efforts there. Both are required to be a Firewise neighborhood.

For firefighters, reducing risk that homes will catch on fire means that their efforts can be turned elsewhere to fight a raging blaze.

But the trend over the years has been the opposite. “More and more fires have a structural component,” said Guy Gifford, spokesman for DNR’s northeast region.

Gifford said the region has at least one or two wildfires each day during warmer and drier months and this year’s season started especially early.

Marty Long is Spokane County Fire District 8’s fire prevention and public education chief. “We have only so many resources,” he said.