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:
Benton County Fire District #1
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
509-734-9100
509-734-9200
bcfd1@3-cities.com
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip):
144610 East Law Lane - Kennewick, WA 99337-2012
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Robert W. Gear - Fire Chief
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Benton County Fire District #1
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
509-734-9100
509-734-9200
bcfd1@3-cities.com
Project Information
Project Title:
Fuels, NFDRS, and Response Coordination
Project Start:
Project End:
June 1, 2002
May 31, 2003
Federal Funding Request:
Total Project Funding:
$65,000.00
$80,400.00
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
No
Brief Project Description:
Survey and map fuels, topography and developmet within Benton County. Compile occurance
records from all fire agencies and match with weather data. Conduct hazard analysis of current
and projected development. Suggest appropriate response within pre-determined fire management
zones based on weather occurance, topography, fuels and risk to improvements.
Project Location:
County:
Congressional District:
Benton County, Washington
Benton
Four
Project Type: Check appropriate project type. More than one type may be checked. If only Box (4) is checked, use Enclosure 4.
(1)
(2)
Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Project
Wildland Urban Interface Education and Prevention Project
(3)
(4)
Community Planning for Fire Protection Project
Fuels Utilization and Marketing Project
If the applicant is an unincorporated area, define the geographic area being represented:
Benton County Washington, including the cities of Kennewick, Richland, West Richland, Benton
City, and Prossere and the border areas of the Hanford Reach National Monument.
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
 partners





project income
project time frames
specify types of activities and equipment used
amount or extent of actions (acres, number of homes, etc)
environmental, cultural and historical resource requirements
Project Location: The project will include the unincorperated and incorperated areas of Benton
County, WA, the Bureau of Land Management lands within Benton County and the lands lying within 5
miles of the Boundary of the Hanford Reach National Monument.
Project Implementation: Implementing this project will involve getting a request for proposals to qualified
contractors. Choosing a qualified contractor and reaching a contract.
Anticipated Outcomes:
-Provide documentation to identify the geographic areas of the community that must comply with already
adopted building restrictions including setbacks and non-combustible construction.
-Through Hazard identification and NFDRS develop 3-5 dispatch levels that more appropriately mirror the
diurnal risk.
-Through better pre-planning increase the opportunities for resource sharing among local and federal
agencies.
-Increased awareness of actual risk by responders, building officials, and the public.
Measures and Reporting:
-Completion of fuels mapping on current GIS
.-Integration of occurrence data in NFDRS.
-Dispatch matrix based on fire management zone and relative risk.
-Expanded reciprocal response agreements between local and federal agencies.
Partners: Benton County Fire Districts, Benton County Planning and Building Department, Cities of
Kennewick and Richland, USFWS Hanford Monument, BLM Spokane District.
Project Time Frames:
-Get Request for Proposals - June 2002
-Award Request for Proposals - July 2002
-Project Work - August-March 2003
-Determining Appropriate Response - April-May 2003
Specify Types of Activities and Equipment Used: Field review, GIS, Incident Reporting Data Collection and
Manipulation, Resource Management, Presentations to Public and Private Parties.
Response:
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.
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 fuels treatment plan or 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 (a) leads to, enhances or restores a local fire-adapted ecosystem, and/or (b) mitigates or leads to the
mitigation of hazardous fuel conditions.
F. How will the proposed treatments be maintained over time?
Response: Fire occurance
in the Columbia Basin is high. As the area experiences continued growth the
residential development is moving into the hillsides and canyons surrounding Kennewick and Richland. The
risk from wildfire to these developments needs to be scientifically quantified and articulated. The currently
available resources must be deployed based on the actual risk, encouraging non jurisdictional deployment.
Federal lands in the Columbia Basin are intermixed with private lands and maintained in a natural occurring
state. This intersperses volitile native vegetation fuel beds within an expanding residential base. Federal
involvement in suppression is changing from non-existent to a more pro-active role. This is concurrent with
efforts by local governments to maximize suppression capabilities during fiscal constraints. Long term
ecosystem adaption from current fuels will take many years. Improving response capability is a critical shortterm action.
The second phase of this activity will involve identifying locaitons that are appropriate for conversion to a
more historical fuel model. i.e.; bunch grass and sagebrush and the work needed to accomplish that
conversion.
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)?
B. To what extent will this project be offered to serve as a model for other communities?
C. Will biomass or forest fuels be utilized; if so, in what manner and how much?
Response: This
request would involve contracted constultant work for approximately one year. The second
phase, dependent on a follow-up grant, would involve contracted consultant work and contracted labor to
accomplish fuels conversion. This project could be extended into other shrub steepe communities in the
region with virtually no modification.
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 plan, or creates such a plan. Describe the plan if it
already exists.
B. Explain the level of cooperation, coordination or strategic planning among federal, state, tribal, local government and
community organizations. List the cooperators.
Response: While a mutual
response plan currently exists in the community it is based entirely on each
individual jurisdictions perception of need and resource capability. The intent of this project is to allow
agencies to have the documentation they need to pre-plan and respond appropriately. Cooperation among the
local government agencies is fairly good currently. The federal land management agencies are a relatively
new player in the Columbia Basin. The intent of this project is to open a broader communication line
between the local government agencies and the federal agencies. This relationship should provide a more
cost efficient and appropriate response to ignitions.
The current intended cooperators are the Fire Districts and Planning and Building Department of Benton
County, the Cities of Kennewick and Richland, the USFWS Hanford Reach Monument, and the Spokane
District Bureau of Land Management.
4. Expanding Community Participation. (15 Points)
A. To what extent have interested people and communities been provided an opportunity to become informed and involved in this
proposal?
B. Describe the extent of local support for the project, including any cost-sharing arrangements.
C. What are the environmental, social and educational benefits of the project?
Response: The
fire agency administrators of the listed cooperators are all briefed and have attended NFDRS
introduction workshops. Benton County Planning and Building and the Benton County Commissioners have
also been briefed on this project and are supportive. GIS capability will be extended to the project by Benton
County NFDRS outputs will be used by the Benton County Commissioners to support decisions concerning
outdoor residential and agricultural burning. Data from the mapping of fuels and the compilation of a
database identifying the risk of proposed development will be used to apply existing fire protection
requirements to new construction.
Enclosure 3C - Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
Responsible Party
Develop and release Request for Proposals.
Review Responses.
Award Contract.
June-July 2002
Benton County Fire District #1
Identify and map existing fuels, including
natural and flammable agricultural fuels
within Benton County and on the ARID Lands
National Monument within five miles of the
Boundary
August-September 2002
Benton County Fire District #1
Compile occurrence data from all agencies.
Verify data and assemble into Fire Family
Plus.
October-January 2003
Benton County Fire District #1
Develop NFDRS database for communities.
Utilizing applicable RAWS site data and
occurrence data, develop break points and
pocket cards.
February 2003
Benton County Fire District #1
Assist cooperating agencies in determining the
most appropriate response for widland/urban
interface fire management zones for each Fire
Danger Rating Level.
March-April 2003
Benton County Fire District #1
Provide training to Building Department staff
to utilize data in determining the application
of building codes intended to protect
structures from wildfire.
May 2003
Benton County Planning and Building
Department
Enclosure 3D Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Personnel
Supervision and Project
Management
Subtotal
Federal
Agency
$0.00
Applicant
Partner 1
$12,800.00
$1,600.00
$12,800.00
$1,600.00
Partner 2
Total
$0.00
$0.00
$14,400.00
$0.00
$14,400.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$10,000.00
$0.00
$10,000.00
$0.00
$0.00
$6,000.00
$0.00
$6,000.00
$0.00
$0.00
$50,000.00
$0.00
$50,000.00
Fringe Benefits
Subtotal
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Travel
Subtotal
$0.00
$0.00
Equipment
GIS Updgrade
$10,000.00
Subtotal
$10,000.00
$0.00
$5,000.00
$1,000.00
$5,000.00
$1,000.00
$0.00
$0.00
Supplies
Subtotal
$0.00
Contractual
$50,000.00
Subtotal
$50,000.00
$0.00
$0.00
Other
Subtotal
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Total Costs
$65,000.00
$13,800.00
$1,600.00
$0.00
$80,400.00
Project (Program) Income1
(using deductive alternative)
1
$0.00
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.