Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Eastside Fire & Rescue (EF&R) is committed to mitigating the risk of wildfire in our service area. One of the ways we are doing this is by creating Fire Adapted Communities through the development of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) that engages community members and stakeholders.

A CWPP is a collaborative plan developed by stakeholders including state, tribal, and local government, local fire departments, federal land management agencies, and other community stakeholders. Its goal is to identify areas at risk of wildfire and prioritize treatments and programs to reduce that risk. The CWPP also recommends measures to reduce the potential for structures to ignite and addresses issues such as wildfire response, hazard mitigationn, community preparedness, or structure protection.

 To implement our CWPP and mitigate the risk of wildfire in our service area, EFR will:

1. Build partnerships to collaboratively build Fire Adapted Communities through trust-based relationships and face-to-face engagement.
2. Implement a year-round mitigation program where wildfire preparedness and risk reduction become a culture in our communities.
3. Engage community members and stakeholders to be ready for wildfire and to develop a CWPP that is not a shelf plan but a living document that guides mitigation efforts.
4. Create an action plan to prepare for wildfire response, hazard mitigation, community preparedness, and structure protection within our communities.

Our action plan will focus on:

1. Wildfire Response: Developing a coordinated and effective response to wildfire events, including pre-positioning firefighting resources and implementing evacuation plans.
2. Hazard Mitigation*: Identifying and prioritizing areas at high risk of wildfire and implementing treatments to reduce that risk, such as hazardous fuel reduction treatments.
3. Community Preparedness: Providing education and resources to help residents prepare for a wildfire event, including evacuation planning, emergency preparedness, and creating defensible space around buildings.
4. Structure Protection: Implementing measures to reduce structural ignitability (i.e. the likelihood that a building will catch fire), such as using fire-resistant materials and maintaining a buffer zone between buildings and flammable vegetation.

By implementing this action plan, Eastside Fire & Rescue can create Fire Adapted Communities throughout our service area. These communities will be prepared for the threat of wildfire and will be more resilient in the face of this danger. Through ongoing education and outreach efforts, community engagement, and collaboration with stakeholders, we can work together to mitigate the risk of wildfire and build a safer and more prepared community.

What is mitigation? It is how we modify the natural, built, and social environments to reduce impacts to property, the environment, and our way of life.  Wildfire mitigation is a nexus – a network of preparedness tools and actions that can help reduce potential loss of life and property.  

What can you do to mitigate wildfire risk to your home? 

• Create defensible space around your home. 
  • 0-5 feet from the home: This area is most vulnerable to embers. Avoid storing flammable materials on or under decks or next to your home. Remove vegetation and flammable mulch – such as bark – and create a five-foot buffer zone around your home. Clean gutters and roofs of debris and make sure all vents have 1/8” mesh screening.
  • 5-30 feet from the home: remove branches that overhang your home/building, replace wood fencing with noncombustible metal fencing where it attaches to the home/structure.
  • 30-100 feet from the home:  space and prune trees and vegetation to keep flames smaller, lower to the ground, and to interrupt a fire’s path.