Wildfire risk in Western Washington is increasing because of climate change. Whatcom Conservation District’s (Whatcom CD’s) Community Wildfire Resilience Program offers a comprehensive regional wildfire preparedness and education program for landowners across Whatcom and Skagit counties. We strive to help residents and communities across our region understand their wildfire risk and feel empowered to take preparedness actions.
This program’s vital wildfire resilience work is increasingly more important as climate change continues to increase the wildfire risk in Western Washington. Warmer temperatures, less precipitation, and earlier snow melt contributes to drier forests and more frequent high intensity wildfires. Whatcom County, along with the rest of the state, was under a drought declaration this spring. Less than normal rainfall and a greatly reduced snowpack contributed to particularly dry conditions leading into this wildfire season.
Pressure from a growing population and residential development leads to more people moving into heavily forested areas, known as the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Landowners within the WUI are at greater risk of losing their homes to wildfire because of their location in areas susceptible to wildfire ignitions. However, your home can survive a wildfire!
The Climate Commitment Act is helping Whatcom CD’s Wildfire Resilience Program empower landowners with tools and resources to help their homes survive wildfires. We support communities in wildfire planning, evaluate wildfire risk for homeowners and neighborhoods, and engage with partners to share expertise. Our services are free and they include individualized home risk assessments, community wildfire preparedness presentations, community level risk assessments, coordinating community fuels reduction projects, and helping enroll neighborhoods into the national Firewise USA® program.
The Climate Commitment Act allows us to continue providing these free services to communities across Whatcom and Skagit counties. Our help is confidential and non-regulatory. Reach out to schedule a wildfire home risk assessment today.
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