Experts share fire preparedness efforts at forum

Jul. 1--WENATCHEE -- Over the years, fire seasons have gotten longer and fires more severe.

Friday marked four years to the date that the nearly 3,000-acre Sleepy Hollow Fire devastated Wenatchee. It destroyed dozens of homes in the foothills and warehouses in the city's industrial zone, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage.

It was an appropriate anniversary for a fire preparedness forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Dr. Kim Schrier, D-Issaquah, at Wenatchee City Hall.

On the panel were John Sokich, director of National Weather Service Congressional Affairs; Mick Lamar, Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue chief; and Matt Castle, deputy fire staff officer for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

Sokich talked about the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's new satellite.

"It's providing us incredible views of the atmosphere, down to the clouds that form the thunderstorms that can produce the lightning that can cause the wildfires, to the detection of those wildfires from space from 23,000 miles above the earth," he said.

The satellite gives new images every minute. Scientists are still learning its capabilities, Sokich said, as it became operational in March.

"We also have some sophisticated computer models that can actually help predict where the smoke plume will go," he said. "Those are being developed. Those are kind of in this infancy, but that's the way the science is going. That's the way the weather service is going to try to help the whole fire problem and challenge we face."

Schrier urged homeowners to have insurance and be prepared to leave at any time, including having a bag packed and knowing evacuation routes.

She also shared some of Congress' recent achievements for fire preparation.

"One is that we permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and included in that is $100 million for firefighters and fire prevention," she said. "This will include things like drones to monitor forest fires where they're happening in places that are not accessible to us, and it will also include GPS for our firefighters so that we know where they are and we can protect them."

She and U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, are also working on a grant for the Apple Capital Loop project, which would include the proposed Confluence Parkway to help relieve North Wenatchee traffic. It would make it easier for emergency vehicles to get through, Schrier said.

Lamar said it's critical for residents to protect themselves and their property, as the number of volunteer firefighters is decreasing while their responsibilities are increasing. Residents must also keep on top of news and evacuation levels during a fire and have another way of communicating besides cellphones, as service may not be available.

"We had an event last weekend in Plain where they had 2,300 campers come to an area to celebrate Overland Rally," he said. "That was enough people to shut our cell towers down, so we were not able to reach out 911 to anyone. And so, you can only imagine if we had a serious fire."

Castle said the U.S. Forest Service works with other agencies to prevent or manage fires and help reduce their intensity and impacts. The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest encompasses over 4 million acres, and they try to work on about 23,000 acres per year, prioritizing at-risk areas where they can be most efficient.

They do prescribed burns, thinning and, where appropriate, allow fire to play its natural role, Castle said. Fire exclusion efforts have also helped, but they can have consequences.

"When we've excluded fire and its natural role, then we've kind of altered the conditions out there where you have a lot more fuel," he said. "Tie that into changing environment, changing climate, urban growth, more people out there -- all those things create a lot of challenges."

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