Enclosure 3A - Project Summary Form
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE PROJECTS
Application for Wildland Urban Interface Fuels / Education and
Prevention / Community Planning for Fire Protection Projects
Applicant
Applicant/Organization: Yakima County Fire District 12
Phone: 509-966-3111
FAX: 509-966-4939
Email: dleitch@westvalleyfire.com
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip):
7707 Tieton Drive
Yakima, WA 98908
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Dave Leitch, Fire Chief
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Yakima County Fire Protection District 12
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
509-966-3111
509-966-4939
dleitch@westvalleyfire.com
Project Information
Project Title:
Ahtanum Ridge Wildland Urban Interface
Proposed Project Start Date:
May 2003
Proposed Project End Date:
Dec 2003
Federal Funding Request:
$51,000.00
Total Project Funding:
$70,000.00
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
no
Brief Project Description:
With the cooperation of the Yakama BIA, Washington State DNR, and adjoining Fire District’s we
will create a GPS data base of homes. Assess each residence for fire hazards, inventory fuels for
mitigation and log all safety related issues for response and mitigation. Education of residences
and community in the Ahtanum Ridge, South Fork and North Fork Ahtanum drainages in
cooperation with other agencies. Information collected and entered into data base will be shared
with other agencies and used for mitigation, prevention, education and planning.
Project Location (latitude/longitude if applicable):
County:
Congressional District:
Ahtanum Ridge West of I-82
Yakima
4th
Project Type: Check appropriate project type. More than one type may be checked. If only Box (4) is checked, use Enclosure 4.
(1) x - Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Project
(2) x- Wildland Urban Interface Education and Prevention Project
(3) x- Community Planning for Fire Protection Project
(4)
Fuels Utilization and Marketing Project
If the applicant is an unincorporated area, define the geographic area being represented:
66 square miles (42,240 acres) 1350 homes
Enclosure 3B (Page 1 of 3) - Project Narrative Description
Applications for funding must include a narrative response that describes the proposal. Please do not submit responses longer than one page,
single space, 12-pitch font.
Describe project including, but not limited to:
 project location
Address these
 project implementation
items as
 anticipated outcomes
applicable:
 measures and reporting
 interagency partners





project relationship to community or natural landscape fire plans
project time frames and income
specify types of activities and equipment used
amount or extent of actions (acres, number of homes, etc)
environmental, cultural and historical resource requirements
Response: Unincorporated lands of the Ahtanum Ridge Area. Approximately 66 square miles of sagebrush, grass and shrub on
flat to steep terrain. Fire response is done by Yakama BIA and Fire District 12 using a mutual aid agreement. State and Federal
resources are also available upon request. Approximately 1350 homes are located in this area. They are non-trust homes within
the reservation boundaries.
Implementation will be carried out by Yakima County Fire District 12 personnel collecting data, assessing and carrying out
mitigation measures. Information gathered will be used in education of the public through our quarterly news letter and special
mailings. All residences will be GPS and prioritized on there vulnerability to wildland fire. This creates a data base of triaged
homes based on there hazards to firefighter safety, location and proximity to fuels, and defensible space.
Our main inter-agency partner will be the Yakama BIA working directly with Everett Isaac their Fuels Planner. Yakima County
Fire District 5, Yakima County Fire Protection Bureau, Washington State DNR and USFS. Our site inspections and personnel
contacts with residence will help mitigate the potential for wildland fire loss. The assessments of adjoining fuels and hazards will
give us valuable information for implementation of fuels reductions and mitigation planning.
The project can start in May and continue through to December of this year. Personnel and equipment employed for this project
will also be able to respond to any incidents in this area to suppress or contain the spread of a wildland fire. The project will be
accomplished with several personnel, GPS units, computers, and vehicles equipped with tools. Several historical sites, cemeteries
and agricultural museum are located along this area. Due to the location of this area and its view of the upper Yakima county there
are numerous large expensive homes scattered along the entire ridge.
When the project is completed we will have a data base of all pertinent information needed to educate residences of dangers
associated with their property and wildland fire. It will also insure firefighter safety and appropriate strategies when suppressing
any type of wildland fire to threaten the area. Potential fuels reductions will help mitigate severity of incidents and help protect
against loss of structures and crops. Also will create defensible spaces to adequately protect firefighters responding to mitigate the
impact of the fire.
Enclosure 3B (Page 2 of 3) - Project Evaluation Criteria
Applications for funding must include narrative responses that address the following four criteria. Within each criterion, subcriteria are listed in descending order of importance. Limit your responses to the areas provided.
1. Reducing Fire Risk. (40 points))
A. Describe how the proposal promotes reduction of risk in high hazard areas or communities, or natural landscapes.
B. Describe how the proposed project benefits resources on federal land or adjacent non-federal land, or how it protects the safety
of communities.
C. To what extent does the project implement or create a cooperative (1) fuels treatment plan or (2) community fire strategy
(include evidence of the plan if it already exists)?
D. Explain to what extent the affected community or proponent has been involved or plans to involve the affected community in a
qualified fuels education program (e.g., FIREWISE).
E. Explain how the proposal (1) leads to, enhances or restores a local fire-adapted ecosystem, and/or (2) mitigates or leads to the
mitigation of hazardous fuel conditions.
F. How will the proposed treatments or programs be maintained in future years?
Response:
Knowing how many structures, construction features and adjacent fuels will help us better educated the public of potential loss if a
fire were to occur. It will also give us good information on what fuels reductions need to be done to create defensible spaces and
make the area safer for the residences and responding resources during a wildland fire event. A pre-fire plan will be done for the
area, and shared with assisting agencies. It will include goals and objectives for evacuations, suppression and education efforts.
These plans will last for several years but will require periodical updating on an annual basis. Updating of water sources, roads and
structures can easily be added to the data programs. Education of the public will be ongoing and especially during an event or
teachable moment. We currently have personnel that have attended the Fire Wise Workshops and are active in the Yakima County
Fire Prevention Coop.
2. Increasing local capacity. (30 points)
A. How would the proposal improve or lead to the improvement of the local economy in terms of jobs and sustainable economic
activity? How many jobs are expected to be created or retained and for how long (please distinguish between essentially yearround and seasonal jobs)? How will this proposal link to other projects (or proposed projects) to create year-round jobs?
B. To what extent will this project be offered to serve as a model for other communities or natural landscapes?
C. Will biomass or forest fuels be utilized; if so, in what manner and how much?
Response:
Several fuels technicians would be hired during the project along with a prevention and data coordinator. The majority of the jobs
would be seasonal except for the Public Education person who is currently employed full time with our district. This gives us yearround educational opportunities. The employment of these individuals would also give us adequate fire response during the
wildland fire season. The employees hired would then have the off season to attend college or trade schools.
The pre-fire planning and use of data storage programs would be shared with adjacent jurisdictions. All information would be
shared if requested. Our Department would also post public education components, planning information and project information
on our web site. westvalleyfire.com
Enclosure 3B (Page 3 of 3) - Project Evaluation Criteria
3. Increasing interagency and intergovernmental coordination. (15 Points)
A. Describe how this project implements a local intergovernmental strategy or plan, or creates such a plan. Describe the plan if it
already exists.
B. Explain the level of cooperation, coordination or strategic planning through a “Local Coordination Group” for wildland fire
activities, or among federal, state, tribal, local government and community organizations. List the cooperators (a detailed list
of cooperators will be required for projects that are funded).
Response:
A response plan would be developed in the event of a wildfire to the area. Components included would be structural triage, fuels,
safety issues, evacuation, security, defensible spaces, water supply, egress and ingress. Information gather would assist in public
education, county planning and risk mitigation. We currently are involved with the Yakima County Fire Prevention Coop and
Yakima County Fire Marshall. We have Mutual Aid agreements with the Yakama BIA, Washington State DNR and County Fire
Districts. We work with the Yakima County Safe Kids Coalition and West Valley School District in our prevention programs. We
publish a quarterly news letter with fire prevention and safety awareness topics. Our web page has links to many local, state and
federal programs. Our agency has operated an inter-agency wildland engine the past 11 years with the Washington State DNR.
4. Expanding Community Participation. (15 Points)
A. To what extent have interested individuals, groups, and communities been provided an opportunity to become informed and
involved in this proposal?
B. Describe the extent of local support or opposition for the project, including any cost-sharing arrangements.
C. What are the environmental, social and educational benefits or concerns of the project?
Response:
We have worked closely with the Yakama BIA, Yakima County Fire District 5 and the Washington State DNR in our efforts to
coordinate this grant. We anticipate working together on this an other projects to have a uniform approach in how we gatherer data,
develop plans and mitigate fuels buildups. Fuels reduction programs will be coordinated between the agencies. Information and
public education programs will be coordinated and shared, attempting to get the most out of each others time and budget.
Enclosure 3C - Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
Responsible Party
Identify, map and asses homes in the wildland
urban interface project.
May 1 to December 31 2003
Yakima County Fire District 12
interagency fire crew
Determine measures needed to mitigate safety
issues, hazards and fuels to prevent
devastating fires or damage
May 1 to December 31, 2003
Yakima County Fire District 12
interagency fire crew
Prepare structure protection plans, evacuation
plans and pre-fire strategies.
May 1 to December 31, 2003
Yakima County Fire District 12
interagency fire crew, DNR
Asses fuels and prescribe treatments, prioritize
the needs and implementation schedule.
May 1 to December 31, 2003
Yakima County Fire District 12,
interagency fire crew, DNR, Yakama
BIA
Community Education, Public Education,
Public information planning and strategies.
May 1 to December 31, 2003
Yakima County Fire District 12,
interagency fire crew, District’s PIO,
County Fire Prevention Coop.
Data entry and program management
May 1 to December 31, 2003
Yakima County Fire District 12
Enclosure 3D Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Personnel
Federal
Agency
Applicant
Partner 1
Partner 2
Total
$35,000.00
$10,000.00
$45,000.00
$8000.00
$2200.00
$10,200.00
Subtotal
Fringe Benefits
Subtotal
Travel
$00
$00
Subtotal
Equipment
$5000.00
$5000.00
$10,000.00
$1500.00
$1500.00
$3000.00
Subtotal
Supplies
Subtotal
Contractual
$00
$00
Subtotal
Other
$1500.00
$500.00
$2000.00
$51,000.00
$19,200.00
$70,200.00
Subtotal
Total Costs
Project (Program) Income1
(using deductive alternative)
1
Program income is the gross revenue generated by a grant or cooperative agreement supported activity during the life of
the grant. Program income can be made by recipients from fees charged for conference or workshop attendance, from rental
fees earned from renting out real property or equipment acquired with grant or cooperative agreement funds, or from the sale
of commodities or items developed under the grant or cooperative agreement. The use of Program Income during the
project period may require prior approval by the granting agency.