When we think of community wildfire resilience in Washington, an island in South Puget Sound is not necessarily the first image that comes to mind. Yet, wildfires can and do happen on the west side of the state. Harstine Island itself, only 11 miles long and 3 miles wide, has seen several wildfires over the last decade. On the western edge of Mason County, Harstine Island is connected to the mainland by a single two-lane bridge, making access to essential services like grocery stores and healthcare facilities, which are absent on the island, relatively difficult. As a forested, relatively remote WUI community with limited water and local firefighting capacity, accessibility for emergency services and timely evacuation in the case of a fire event are a primary concern.
In 2022, a group of resourceful and dedicated citizens came together to form Harstine Island Fire Adapted Community (HIFAC), one of many active community organizations in the area. Since then, the team of volunteers has focused on educating island residents on wildfire prevention and how to mitigate wildfire damage to homes and property. In May 2025, HIFAC hosted a small group of representatives from WAFAC, the Washington Resource Conservation and Development Council (WRCD), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Mason Conservation District for a tour of the community. Our field trip made several stops, with each location providing a unique perspective on Harstine Island’s successes and challenges in preparing for wildfire.
To get a better sense of the fire department’s response time to Harstine Island, we met at the Spencer Lake Fire Station. Approximately 15 to 20 minutes later, we arrived at the Harstine Island Community Center. Currently, response times are approximately 18 minutes, but HIFAC is collaborating with others to reduce this timeframe. From there, the group drove north to the gated community of Harstine Pointe, the first of many densely settled neighborhoods we visited with primarily steep, narrow, and sometimes unpaved roads and driveways. HOA rules limit what HIFAC can implement here, but several Harstine Pointe residents are contributing in their own way. The HOA Disaster Preparedness Committee recently gained approval to utilize a piece of land along the shoreline as a helicopter landing site, intended for both on island and region-wide emergency life flights, which will drastically reduce the travel time to hospitals. The HOA Fire Safety Committee oversees the thinning of ladder fuels and runs emergency response drills to help EMS and fire crews familiarize themselves with the maze-like road system.
Throughout other neighborhoods on the island, without the barrier of HOA rules, HIFAC has found success in engaging residents to take action and prepare for wildfires. To date, HIFAC has supplied and installed 175 address markers to assist firefighters in locating addresses more quickly, conducted 35 free home assessments to help residents better prepare their homes for fire, and hosted several chipper days. HIFAC has also been compiling and providing Go Kits to facilitate rapid departure in case of evacuation.
Looking ahead, HIFAC shows no signs of slowing down. Over lunch prepared by volunteers, we sat down to discuss future projects. Along with the expansion of existing efforts, such as chipper days and home assessments, barriers to communication on the island, with its spotty service, and evacuation planning, were key topics of conversation. With several different stakeholders in the room, including Mason County Sheriff, Ryan Spurling, considerable attention was devoted to brainstorming potential partnerships to enhance capacity for and participation in HIFAC’s work on the island. Some of that is already happening: Harstine Pointe has an MOU with Central Mason Fire for EMS and life flights using its heli-pad, and Salish Seafoods (owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe and located on Harstine Island) has provided boats for emergency response in the past. However, there are far more opportunities for HIFAC to develop its collaboration, whether that’s connecting with the Neighborhood Watch, establishing Firewise sites with the help of DNR, or organizing with the Teamsters’ RV Park and Jarrell’s Cove State Park to establish refuge zones and evacuation points. There’s no lack of motivation or opportunity for HIFAC to continue growing its presence and impact.
At its heart, the FAC approach is designed to make wildfire resilience accessible and applicable to any given location, enabling each community to identify the efforts that are most important for their specific area. HIFAC is doing just that, identifying its priorities, which are as unique as the place they call home, and determining the appropriate fire adapted actions to take. Communities across Washington, whether on the west or east side of the Cascades, can look to Harstine Island as a prime example of how to utilize the FAC framework to build upon existing knowledge and resident engagement while also embracing new strategies to further their FAC work, ultimately helping to build a more fire adapted Washington for everyone.
