Resources | Washington Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network

Fire adaptation is for everyone

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Within the FAC framework, everyone has a role to play.

When taking on fire adapted communities work, it is important to ask who is at the table, who is not at the table, who you could be working with, and what might be possible if you work together.

There are no constraints on each role – and we can’t do it alone. This effort is large and complex and we need all hands on deck. Let’s tap into our collective creativity, tools, knowledge, and understanding, and listen to a diversity of perspectives to make this work and fit the unique context of our special place.

Here are a few resources for you.

For everyone

Stay on top of fire and smoke information, find toolkits, or connect to industry experts who can help you before, during, or after the fire.

Before the Fire

The ready.gov/wildfires website has a tremendous list of resources, checklists, fillable forms, and step-by-step guides for before, during, and after the fire.

During the Fire

Wildfire Information

Wildfires in Washington State (InciWeb)

Weather, Air Quality, and Smoke

Weather Alerts (National Weather Service)

Air Quality Information

Washington Smoke Information

Tips for How to Protect Myself and Family from Wildfire Smoke

Evacuation

Be Ready for Evacuation: Ready, Set, Go!

After the Fire

Individual, community, and technical assistance post-fire flooding and community recovery (Washington Post-Wildfire Flood Committee)

Agricultural and Forestry Recovery Assistance (WSU Extension)

Resources for mental health, insurance, finances, clean-up, land management, and more for residents, businesses, local governments, and scientists (Coalitions and Collaboratives, Inc.)

RESIDENTS

Living in Washington means living with wildfire. Your family, home, pets, and property are at the center of your life, and it is up to you to prepare for a broad range of inconvenient, and possibly tragic, outcomes. Whether it’s before, during, or after the fire, we understand that the way forward can be daunting. Take simple steps to get started.

Before the Fire

Watch these videos to learn how to prepare your family for smoke and evacuation.

Read these Fact Sheets to learn about actions that you can take to protect your home and landscape. (NFPA and Insurance Institute for Home and Business Safety)

Use these templates to develop a family communication plan, evacuation plan, and emergency kit. (Washington Emergency Management and Ready.gov)

During the Fire

Sign-up for state-wide and county emergency alerts!

Contact your nearest fire district or county emergency management office to learn and practice how to evacuate safely, and if necessary shelter in place (the last resort!).

Watch Health Tips for Dealing with Wildfire Smoke (USFS) and How to fit an N-95 Mask (City of Ashland) to reduce your exposure to smoke.

Find smoke advisory maps and tips for reducing smoke exposure in this Smoke-Ready toolbox. (EPA)

Recovery from Wildfire

Follow these After the Fire tips to start your road to recovery.

Read Surviving Wildfire by Linda Masterson to help you prepare for and recover after the fire.

Check out these recovery resources for children and families. (Southern Oregon Fire Ecology Education)

NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS

It’s neighbors that count during emergencies. When disaster strikes, “46% percent of individuals expect to rely a great deal on people in their neighborhood for assistance within the first 72 hours after a disaster”. (Source: ready.gov.) So, get connected! Get to know them and how you can help each other during a wildfire.

Here are a few programs to help you get organized and collectively take action.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Become involved in the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” leadership and training program to prepare for disaster.

Organizing Your Neighborhood

Get involved before a disaster occurs. (Ready.gov)

Start a Map Your Neighborhood program to help enhance neighborhood communications, improve disaster readiness, and prepare to help each other before emergency responders arrive. (Washington Emergency Management)

Learn how WAFAC members are using the Map Your Neighborhood program.

Neighborhood Wildfire Risk Reduction

Coordinate a neighborhood plan of action to remove vegetation and harden homes through Firewise USA® recognition program. (NFPA)

Neighborhood Volunteer Response

Volunteer for a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to receive disaster preparedness training in your area.

Join a Citizen Corps program to help build capacity for first responders.

For an example of a neighborhood program, check out the Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) program.

COMMUNITY GROUPS AND LOCAL LEADERS

Nongovernmental organizations, local leaders, city planners, and elected officials are constantly weighing what programs, projects, regulations, and resources will help our communities withstand wildfire and keep the homeowners’ ability to choose at the center of their decisions.

Community Planning Tool

Use this County Leadership Guide to plan and recover from wildfires. (National Association of Counties)

Request Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) to reduce wildfire risks through improved land use planning. (Headwaters Economics)

Collaborate with local partners to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). (National Fire Administration)

Partner with state, tribal, and local governments to develop long-term strategies to protect people and property from natural hazards through hazard mitigation planning. (FEMA)

Community Recovery is always done at the local level!

A MUST READ: Joplin Pays it Forward – Leaders Share Recovery Lessons Learned

Develop a Community Organization Active in Disaster (COAD) before a disaster strikes so that you are ready to provide assistance to disaster victims. (Extension Disaster Network)

Use this Local Government Guide to Recovery as a framework to coordinate community recovery efforts. (Colorado Recovery and Resiliency Collaborative)

Contact WA Emergency Management to help with pre- and post-disaster recovery planning. Check-out these examples of long-term recovery plans shared by FEMA.

Technical and Financial Assistance

Work together to improve preparedness and respond to disasters using these Emergency preparedness resources, training, and research for individuals, communities, faith-based organizations, children, and community emergency response teams. (FEMA)

Help your community understand the public alert system, national disaster recovery framework, historic preservation, and more using these Tools for Practitioners! (FEMA)

Request technical assistance from Washington Emergency Management for business and private infrastructure continuity planning, school preparedness, pre- and post-disaster recovery planning, recovery, and Limited English Proficiency communications.

State and federal financial assistance and grant programs.

To connect with other professionals working on fire adaptation in the State, contact WAFAC members.

To learn how other professionals are applying fire adaptation practices and strategies in their place, read inspirational stories from the national Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network blog.

BUSINESSES

Up to 40% of businesses affected by a natural or human-caused disaster never reopen. (Source: Insurance Information Institute) When Washington business owners approach wildfire preparedness as an essential business activity, they protect their livelihoods and support their communities.

Business Continuity Plans

Use the Business Continuity Planning Toolkit to guide you through the creation of a business continuity plan to prepare, respond and recover for all disasters. (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety)

Small Business Preparedness

Check out this list of resources for business preparedness, recovery, re-entry, training, and partners who can help. (Washington Emergency Management)

Technical and Financial Assistance

The Disaster Assistance Program provides low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, non-profit organizations, homeowners, and renters to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery & equipment, inventory, and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster. (USA Small Business Administration)

LAND OWNERS AND MANAGERS

In Washington, forest experts remove brush and vegetation and use controlled burns to mitigate unhealthy forest conditions. It’s technically, physically, and logistically demanding work that ultimately helps everyone live more safely with wildfire.

Farms and Livestock

Prepare farms and livestock for wildfire. (Mutual of Enumclaw)

Check out this extensive list of livestock and farm assistance recovery resources. (WSU Extension)

Landscape Restoration

Connect with a forester to help you manage your land by developing Forest Stewardship Plans or requesting and Technical Assistance. (Washington Department of Natural Resources)

The Post Wildfire Flooding Committee and WSU Extension offer technical assistance and extensive lists of post-fire recovery and flooding resources.

Outdoor Burning and Prescribed Fire

Depending on your land use designation, outdoor burning may be regulated by the local fire district, county, or state.

Learn about Burn Restrictions and obtain Burn Permits from DNR (where DNR provides wildfire protection on forested lands).

Contact the Washington Prescribed Fire Council or attend a prescribed fire training exchange to learn more about how to use prescribed fire as a tool for landscape restoration.

Technical and Financial Assistance

Sign-up for cost-share opportunities for Central and Eastern Washington to improve forest health and reduce the threats of wildfire. Eligibility: Non-federal owners of fewer than 5,000 acres of forestland. (WA Department of Natural Resources)

Seek technical and financial assistance from The Natural Resource Conservation Service to help manage natural resources in a sustainable manner, including wildfire preparedness and recovery.

FIRST RESPONDERS

Local fire departments and state and federal firefighters navigate the challenging and dangerous frontlines of wildfire suppression, and above all, are charged with public and personnel safety. Because first responders typically experience a high level of community trust, they have a unique opportunity to support their community not only during the fire but before and after, as well.

Prescribed Fire Training

Learn how to support your community and landscape resilience using fire as a tool by attending prescribed fire training exchanges.

Community Engagement

Engage with your community before a wildfire to help encourage effective preparedness and evacuation by residents when the time comes using the Ready, Set, Go! program.

Communications

Communicate with your community about post-fire flood and debris flow risks using the After the Fire toolkit.

STATE AND FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PRROGRAMS

State and federal entities offer community wildfire assistance programs focused on cooperation and collaboration. They provide funding and technical expertise for hazardous fuel reduction on non-federal lands, Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs), prevention efforts to reduce human-caused fires, wildland fire training for fire departments, and rangeland fire protection associations (RFPAs), business continuity planning, and community recovery efforts. Check-out a few resources available in our State.

Financial Assistance Programs

FEMA grant funds are available for pre and post-emergency or disaster-related projects. These funds support critical recovery initiatives, innovative research, and many other programs.
Check-out these blogs from the national Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network: “Post Fire Recovery Resource Round-up” and “Understanding Post Fire Federal Resources“
Washington Emergency Management offers Disaster Assistance for individuals, businesses, government, public assistance, and community organizations and grants for state and local jurisdictions.
Non-federal owners of fewer than 5,000 acres of forestland seeking to improve forest health and reduce the threats of wildfire and bark beetle damage are eligible to sign-up for cost-share opportunities for Central and Eastern Washington.
USDA is here to help you prepare, recover, and build long-term resilience to natural disasters. Visit https://www.farmers.gov/recover for more information and to get started.
USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service helps agricultural producers and communities through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Emergency Watershed Program (EWP) to quickly address serious and long-lasting damages to infrastructure and to the land after disasters, including wildfires.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers in their recovery efforts following wildfires or other qualifying natural disasters. For more information on these programs, visit or contact your local FSA office.