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Towns could save themselves from wildfire — if they knew about this money [1]

['Alex Brown', 'More From Author', '- August']

Date: 2023-08-18  

PACKWOOD, Wash. — Last year, Don Pratt fled from his home as a wildfire swept down the mountainside here in Washington’s Cascade Range.

“Heading out, I thought it was the last time I was going to see the house,” he said.

As residents evacuated and smoke engulfed the small mountain community, fire crews with bulldozers and hand tools cut fuel breaks around Packwood’s Timberline neighborhood. The blaze came within half a mile of Pratt’s home before a shift in the wind helped firefighters hold the line.

“We got lucky,” said Lonnie Goble, chief of the local fire district. “The wind at the last second kind of quit, or it would have wiped out Timberline pretty easily.”

As hot, dry conditions returned to the area this month, locals said they’ll need more than just luck to survive the next fire. They’re hoping to remove trees and brush to create a buffer space around houses and structures, while removing low-hanging limbs in residential areas. But that work is expensive, and they haven’t been able to pay for it.

There’s actually a huge pot of federal money available to communities across the country — an unprecedented amount that would allow towns to quickly tackle work that otherwise would take decades. But local leaders in Packwood, which has fewer than 1,200 residents, and some other areas say they haven’t heard of the program, and most haven’t drafted the protection plans needed to apply for grants.

The U.S. Forest Service, which oversees the conifer-covered mountainsides surrounding Packwood, is distributing $1 billion to help communities protect themselves from wildfires. Some areas already have secured as much as $10 million to carry out major projects, and officials say the grants have greatly increased their chances of avoiding catastrophe.

But even as the federal agency takes in applications for the second round of funding, wildfire experts acknowledge that many communities could be left behind. Forest Service officials said a congressional deadline forced them to send out the first round of funding in a hurry. For future grants, they’re working to identify at-risk communities and proactively urge them to apply.

State and federal officials pointed to last week’s deadly fire in Lahaina, Hawaii, as an example of how many communities don’t realize the risk they’re facing. And many that do know the danger, such as Packwood, are not yet poised to compete for the grants. As hundreds of millions of dollars are handed out over the next several years, the places that receive that money could be much better protected from burning to the ground.

Living with fire

Over the years, federal and state policymakers have made big investments to reduce wildfire hazards across vast swaths of public lands. But money has been in short supply for the places where those uninhabited landscapes mingle with cities and towns.

“To think we’re going to stop every fire, that’s just not the case,” said Brad Simpkins, branch chief for cooperative fire programs with the U.S. Forest Service. “What we need to do is protect communities and mitigate the impact.”

Experts say communities in fire-prone areas need to do massive amounts of work if they’re to coexist with wildfire. That means removing vegetation around homes and structures. It also includes establishing evacuation corridors, creating fire breaks in surrounding forests and educating residents about the risks.

Under the infrastructure law Congress passed in 2021, the Forest Service was given $1 billion to help states, local governments, tribes, nonprofits and homeowners associations pay for projects to keep their communities safe from wildfires. The agency announced nearly $200 million in grant awards this March, and it’s currently taking applications for the second round.

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[1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/08/18/towns-could-save-themselves-from-wildfire-if-they-knew-about-this-money/

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