Gold Bar firefighters help residents prepare for wildfire protection

GOLD BAR — In the event of a fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire, there isn’t much the local fire department can do to protect your home.

With Western Washington on tap for a hot, dry summer, Gold Bar firefighters are urging homeowners to take precautions sooner rather than later.

They’ll even come out to your property to help identify any issues, Fire Chief Eric Andrews said.

The first step is making sure there’s a 30-foot, fire-resistant buffer around the home. Anything flammable within that zone can pose a problem.

“Usually that’s a bigger factor than anything whether we can save the house or not,” Gold Bar fire Lt. Scott Coulson said.

As part of the new safety campaign, called “Defensible Space?”, people will see reminder signs going up around Gold Bar.

A major concern is small trees and shrubs next to houses, particularly junipers and other species that produce flammable oils, Andrews said.

“It’s a death sentence for starting a fire in your house,” he said. “It just turns to black oil and it burns so intensely.”

Other dangers include stacks of wood alongside walls, pine needles in the gutter, and tarps and low-hanging branches near the home. Tall, dead grass is called “a flashy fuel” — easy to ignite and quick to burn.

Those factors can determine whether crews can get close enough to the house to fight off fire, Coulson said. He has seen fires in Eastern Washington take out neighborhoods but leave untouched houses where the owners took preventative measures.

“A one-acre fire can take out a house just as easy as a 100-acre fire,” he said. “We’re really susceptible in the Skykomish Valley here, all of the valley from Snohomish to the summit of Stevens Pass.”

The kind of roofing materials, and the condition of the roof, also may make some homes more vulnerable. About half of homes destroyed in wildfires start ablaze due to embers dropping on roofs, Andrews said. Winds and wayward branches play a role.

Winds of just 10 mph increase fire dangers in the Gold Bar area, though more so in the 20-40 mph range, he said.

Gold Bar is one of the most densely forested areas in Snohomish County. The fire district sends crews to Eastern Washington to help fight wildfires. Coulson himself spent the past weekend at a fire near Brewster.

Wildfires do happen in Snohomish County, generally on a smaller scale than east of the mountains.

People here may not be prepared to see a wildfire here, Andrews said. The long-term forecast for next summer 2016 looks even worse for fire dangers.

His crews also plan to distribute fliers as part of the new “Defensible Space?” campaign.

“We have to do something,” Andrews said. “We have to help people.”

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

For more information about wildfire prevention, visit www.firewise.org. To schedule an assessment in or near the Gold Bar fire district, contact scoulson@snofire26.org. For other parts of the county, contact your local fire district.

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