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 Protection District 5
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
509-829-5111
509-829-6687
ycfd5awalker@charter.net
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip):
P.O. Box 447, Zillah, WA 98953
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
R. Allen Walker, Deputy Chief
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Yakima County Fire Protection District 5
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
509-829-5111
509-829-6687
ycfd5awalker@charter.net
Project Information
Project Title:
Fuel reduction and Wildfire awareness through Education and Prevention.
Proposed Project Start Date:
Proposed Project End Date:
Jan 1, 2004
December 31, 2004
Federal Funding Request:
Total Project Funding:
$63,000.
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
No.
Brief Project Description:
The project intent is to continue the efforts of the Interagency cooperation of Yakima County Fire
District 5 and Yakama BIA, in planned fuel breaks by fuel reduction and treatment, the assessment
projects using the Fire Wise format and a revised NFPA-299, and our educational efforts within our
communities. This project will expand on our Interagency cooperation and provide opportunities for
our community members to get involved with a program that is focused on the safety of their
families and their property. Through education, those same community members will become a
partner in fire safety recognition by better understanding fire dangers and how to deal with them.
Fuel breaks will be strategically placed by reviewing past fire history so we can prevent the
devastation and reoccurrence of that magnitude of fire. We will utilize volunteer fire fighters in a
seasonal capacity to perform some of the work. These same volunteers that respond to the
community emergencies will do assessments and Fire Wise education in their hometown, this alone
will foster a partnership in our fire prevention programs and greatly enhance our educational efforts.
Project Location (latitude/longitude if applicable):
County:
Congressional District:
Lower Yakima County, Yakama Res. 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:
Unincorporated wildfire sensitive areas around the communities of White Swan, Harrah, Wapato,
Toppenish and Satus.
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
Yakima County Fire District 5 covers 700 square miles of unincorporated area with three of the
boarders being adjacent to property uninhabited with very high potential of fire risk and past fire history. On
these adjacent properties fire protection responsibility is with the Yakama BIA, BLM, US Fish and Wildlife,
Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Washington fish and game, in which we are a
cooperating agency with all five.
The projects main concentration will be on the Yakama Nation Reservation portion of the District which
makes up about two thirds of the Fire District. Within this area we will focus our efforts of fuel treatment
around houses, perform assessments and community education and foster interagency cooperation. Over the
entire district we will place road signs to emphasize and remind our community to be Fire Safe and Fire Wise.
Through our out reach programs in the schools, Parades, and Tribal celebrations and with the cooperation of
City Fire Departments within our District, Yakima County Fire Prevention Association and the Yakama
Nation Fire Management, we will spread the message of fire safety and wildfire prevention.
Our goal is to reduce the risk of fires and eliminate the devastation it causes by reducing fire severity. This
will be accomplished by reducing the concentration of fuel and placing fuel breaks in areas of high fire
history. Our out reach will go to the homes that have little or no defensible space and we will develop a
partnership with the homeowner to mitigate hazardous fuels and educate them on an assessment evaluation of
their home. We will be a true partner in the survivability of their home and the safety of their family.
Response:
The larger projects of fuel reduction will be accomplished by utilizing district equipment, such as dozers and
a heavy tillage disc. The smaller projects will be contracted out to local farmers, business or give direction to
the homeowner for self-treatment. Our volunteer firefighters, in a paid status, will be a resource for
equipment operators and assessment collectors and community out reach. Our interagency approach and
multi-culture volunteer pool will bring continuity to our fire safety message, cost saving to our customers and
success to our program.
The assessment project will be a continuation from a previous grant awarded to the Fire District. By utilizing
this newly developed assessment model we can identify the high-risk homes and those with no defensible
space. This model was the results of a grant for a pilot project for Risk Assessment of hazardous fuel
conditions within Wildland Urban Interface areas of the District. This project funding will end on July 1,
2003. The 2003 project is being accomplished through a grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and in a
partnership with the Yakama BIA Fuels program. This project looks to be a model for all of our area and
possibly our region on the completion of a demonstrated working model in July 2003 for Pre-fire and risk
analyses.
This program uses an assessment model, utilizing layers of information, to include such information as
topography, road systems, water systems, accessed homes and commercial buildings, aerial photos, fuel
models and property ownerships. This information can be utilized to capture needed information on an
emergency incident or a concentrated prevention effort or a presentation to a committee concerning fire risk
areas or be utilized for critical or routine pre-fire information. This will be available to first responders on a
personal computer, laptop or over the dispatch radio from a database in CAD. (computer aided dispatch). At
the completion of this model we will have over 700 houses assessed and entered in our database and a pilot
fuel treatment program in place.
This proposal is an effort to continue a very worthwhile and community based effort to protect property and
lives from the devastation of fire through pre-planning and inter-agency cooperation.
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?
The project will concentrate around homes with high fire risk and the treatment will be
concentrated towards developing a defensible space. Housing developments will be protected by developing
fuel breaks and preplanned fuel breaks in sensitive high fire areas. These fuel breaks will give responders a
pre-planned line of defense in areas of high fire history and thus reduce the intensity, devastation and safety
concerns to our communities.
This project is covering an area checker boarded with trust and non-trust lands and is bordered by three
different state and federal agencies. It also has natural and cultural sensitive sites throughout the targeted
areas. The pre-fire efforts and treatment will insure the best plans are in place for success and survivability of
those fire and/or equipment sensitive areas.
The communities will be a partner in cleaning their home sites and develop a defensible space around their
homes. Some of these communities are in a high fire history area involving burn barrels, fire works and
unattended fires. The motivation from past history of fires equals a moment of opportunity our fire fighters
can capitalize on. By utilizing the Assessment program we have developed and by extending that pilot
program to the proposed project we can make presentations to the community, community leaders, and tribal
government to show evidence and a plan for future partnerships in reducing fire loss associated with fire.
This program will continue with partnerships with our communities, developing workdays with trash pick-up
with community wide and agency cooperation and most of all, plans, templates, examples of successes.
Response:
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 tother 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?
This project will enhance efforts to improve property value of homes by educating our patrons in
home treatment and preparation for a fire wise home. By reducing fire risk and threat we will reduce claims
on insurance loss of property and agency responses to the number of fires.
The project will allow for 4 summer time seasonal jobs to be established and contracting opportunities for
local equipment owners. The contracting efforts will be concentrated in chipping and tillage for short
durations. The possibility to hire a full time Prevention Officer/Community Coordinator is a very viable
opportunity and has already been discussed within District 5. To have a similar grant funded project continue
over a five year period would be a huge benefit to this economical depressed area in Yakima County, not just
for the jobs it would create but for the reduction of fire loss and debris clean up in communities with a history
of fast moving fires. The Yakama Indian Reservation in the past has not benefited by the project grants
awarded to the Yakima County Fire Marshals office. The Yakama reservation is not considered to be an area
of responsibility for the County Government but Yakima County Fire District 5 is a critical cooperator with
the nation and Yakama BIA and is a true stakeholder in the Lower Yakima County Communities including
those on the Reservation. This project will be a model for other agencies to develop a database to create prefire plans, treatment plans and target prevention efforts by filtering the assessment information.
Response:
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: : This project will be a continuation of a pilot project for homes and fuel assessments. The project
was and is being completed with the cooperative efforts of key players within Yakama BIA, Fuels program
and Yakima County Fire District 5. It is the combined efforts and commitment of both agencies to produce a
database of information that can be filtered and sorted in a multitude of ways using layers of information.
This information can be used for presentations, pre-planning for an emergency response to include prevention
plans and future building plans.
The Central Cascade Local Cooperation Group was developed to review, support and prioritize wildland fire
and fuels management programs and grant requests. It also brings key players together to create a partnership
and a network of resources to better utilize planning efforts and resources in projects in our local
communities. Cooperators in the group at this time include, Washington. Department of Fish and Wildlife,
Yakama Nation BIA, USFS Cle Elum, USFS Naches, Yakima County, Kittitas County, Washington.
Department of Natural Resources, Yakima Fire District #5, Yakima County Fire Marshal, Kittitas County
Fire Marshal and Yakima Military Training Center.
Objectives are to Provide a cooperative environment for the exchange of ideas and technology transfer, foster
interagency partnership and cooperation, coordination and communication. To encourage coordination in the
use of prescribed fire, prevention and promote sharing suppression resources through planning. The group
also provides a collection point for proposed grants, programs and projects for review. This voluntary review
is to insure alternatives and issues can be fielded by those stakeholders in that effective region.
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?
This project is a continuation of a pilot program now in the final months towards completion. The
support by the home owners on trust and non-trust land has been encouraging and with treatment phase
drawing near I am confident this pilot will be a true success, even though it is represented by a small area at
this time. The success of these projects will be enjoyed and applauded each time the program is utilized, a
home is saved by the pre-planning, fuel treatment efforts that have taken place or an emergency responders
use the information to make a tactical or rescue decision in time of stress.
This project will have an end to grant money but the homes will be in a data base and physically visited on a
planned two to three year cycle just for pre-fire planning by our fire district personnel. We can identify the
needs and therefore be able to serve our customers in a more responsible way By doing so we will develop
partnerships to encourage a maintenance attitude instead of a response attitude towards fire prevention.
There are similar project coordinators looking at this pilot so they may capitalize on the program such as
West Valley Fire and East Valley Fire of which both are neighboring Districts.
Yakima County Fire District 5 is a key mediator and supporter of continued cooperative efforts between the
reservation and other agencies in our fire region. By creating partnerships and continuity with all players in
our area we continue to demonstrate the progress that can be accomplished with a solid front. We can have
fire safety practices and still insure the protection of our wildlife, our cultural and natural resources. This can
all be accomplished by respecting and recognizing the cultural difference of all of our ethnic groups in our
area. Cooperation and partnerships being the key to our continued positive communication and success!
Response:
Enclosure 3C - Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
Responsible Party
Continuation of assessments and
logging Data.
February –December 2004
Yakima District 5, District
Volunteers in coordination with
Yakama Fuels and
Evaluation of Data to identify high
risk homes and fuel pockets.
May 2004 and later as project
moves to other areas
Yakima District 5 & Yakama
Fuels
Fuel treatment and fuel breaks
June – October 2004
Yakima District 5 & Yakama
Fuels and Contractors with
District volunteers
Sign preparation and Placement
June – July 2004
Yakima District 5, WA state
highway dept, Yakima County
Roads
Prepare a review for the Central
Cascade Co-op
November 2004
Yakima District 5 & Yakama
Fuels
Evaluate success with the number of
Fire responses to treated areas.
November-December 2004
Yakima District 5
Enclosure 3D Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
Applicant
Personnel
$27,400.00
$17,000.00
Subtotal
$27,400.00
$17,000.00
Fringe Benefits
0.00
$3,600.00
Subtotal
0.00
$3,600.00
Travel
$2,000.00
0.00
Subtotal
$2,000.00
0.00
Equipment
$6,000.00
0.00
Subtotal
$6,000.00
0.00
Supplies
Fuel cost
Signs and Prevention Mat.
Subtotal
$3,000.00
$13,200.00
$16,200.00
$1,000.00
0.00
$1,000.00
Contractual
$7,000.00
0.00
Subtotal
$7,000.00
0.00
Other
$2,400.00
$2,000.00
Subtotal
$2,400.00
$2,000.00
Total Costs
$61,000.00
$23,500.00
Partner 1
Partner 2
Total
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.
National Fire Plan Community Assistance and
Wildland Urban Interface Projects
Unincorporated areas of White Swan,
Wapato, Harrah, Toppenish, Satus Communities
Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Plan
2004
Working together to make a fire wise and fire safe
Community.
A Cooperative effort of:
Yakima County Fire District Number 5
and
Yakama Indian Nation, BIA