Protecting Washington from Mega-Wildfires

Olympia – In the coming months, Washington State will face an elevated risk of wildfires. According to a report completed by Challenge Seattle, an alliance of CEO’s from 22 of the region’s largest employers led by former Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire, 4.6 million acres have burned in Washington since 2015. 

That’s the size of King and Snohomish Counties combined.

The SFMO is joining with Challenge Seattle by asking for your help in preventing mega-wildfires by utilizing these five actions:

• Responsibly start, manage, and extinguish campfires and debris burns.
• Safely use outdoor equipment that can cause a spark.
• Comply with burn bans.
• Remove flammable items within five feet of your home.
• Put screens on vents.
• Build home fire resiliency by removing dry leaves and debris, and cutting back large tree limbs up to a minimum of 10 feet away from homes.
• Create smoke readiness and evacuation plans.

Review the full report, which can be found here.

For more information or to obtain a communications toolkit with ready-to-use content and social media copy to disseminate, contact the State Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-596-3929.