A-Town in Our Town Magazine: Spring/Summer 2024

Anacortes PD is Getting Ready for Summer Preventing Wildland Fires in the ACFL

There is much to love about Anacortes and our forestlands, however, it is also important to be informed on the risks of wildland fires and what you can do to better prepare your home.

The City of Anacortes utilizes concepts from the Fire Wise program to help educate our residents on how to better prepare their homes in case of a wildland fire. This program states that; “There are three ways your home can be exposed to wildfire: direct flames from a wildfire or burning neighboring home; radiant heat from nearby burning plants or structures; and flying embers.” Flying embers from a wildfire can destroy homes up to a mile away and are responsible for the destruction of most homes during a wildfire. To decrease the risks of your home being exposed to a wildland fire is to have a proper defensible space between your home and the surrounding vegetation. This space should be up to 100 feet, but for homes close to our forestlands, this may not be attainable. Many homes can increase their home’s fire resistance by simply removing dead or dying grass, shrubs, leaves, and branches from around their home and gutters. Some other ways would be to relocate firewood away from the home, trimming trees and having

There are different rules that may pertain to the Anacortes City Forest Lands, Parks, wetlands, HOAs or other critical and protected areas. Please contact the City of Anacortes Planning Department for guidance prior to implementing any vegetation trimming or removal at 360-293-1984

In addition to proactive measures, timely and efficient wildfire response is critical for mitigating the impact of fires in the Wildland Urban Interface. Your Anacortes Fire Department has been working hard to train and equip our firefighters with the tools necessary to protect our homes and forests.

Over the past year we have deployed a new Type 5 Wildland fire engine and equipped a Utility Task Vehical (UTV) to reach deeper and faster into the forests to extinguish small fires before they can become a threat. We also continue to contract with the Washington Department of Natural Resources so that their resources are available to us should the need arise.

On a related note, we want you to be safe when out enjoying the forests on our trail system. It is important to have a phone with you so that you can access 911 if you have an emergency or come across someone else who is. Another important item to carry is water. Even with our cooler temperatures, it is easy to become dehydrated when exerting yourself on the trails. A first aid kit may also come in handy to help yourself or others until EMS arrives.

Enjoy our forests and trails and know that the Anacortes Fire Department is always here for you.

Additional information can be found at:

nfpa.org/education-and-research/ wildfire/firewise-usa