Community Wildfire Preparedness

Communities across the West are facing the harsh realities of the climate crisis firsthand, with wildfires threatening lives and infrastructure, and the presence of dangerously poor air quality for months on end. Those most affected in Washington are communities on the east side of the Cascade Crest, who consistently see our worsening wildfire seasons impacting their safety and their quality of life. Local governments and residents are working hard from many angles to increase the safety, communication, climate resilience, and adaptability of their communities in this new reality. This panel will address two such approaches to creating fire-adapted communities, from the perspective of local government with former Kittitas County Commissioner, Paul Jewell, and that of a community investment and advocacy organization with Oskar Zambrano of Latino Community Fund.

Kittitas County stretches from the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range to the Columbia River in central Washington. All of unincorporated Kittitas County is identified as part of the Wildland Urban Interface. Given the extreme wildfire risk in this transition zone between urban and undeveloped areas, Kittitas County has developed a fire-related Wildland Urban Interface building code, to reduce wildfire risk to structures and residents.

The Latino Community Fund (LCF) envisions a vibrant and civically engaged Latino community in Washington, identifying, sharing and advocating for what is working in the Latino community, cultivating new leaders, supporting cultural and community based non-profit organizations, and improving the quality of life for all Washingtonians. LCF engages on wildfire resilience with community members and local governments in central and eastern Washington to identify community needs, improve multi-lingual communications, increase engagement and leadership, and train residents on how to increase home and land resilience and how to share these skills with their communities.