SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. -- It's been nearly four months since two separate wildfires ripped through Spokane County, displacing hundreds of families and forever changing local communities.
The Spokane Fire Department, in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, has been conducting fuels reduction around the county, saying it's made a difference even with the two major fires.
There may still be snow on the ground, but the work to lower Spokane County's wildfire risk is happening year-round, and after the Gray and Oregon Road fires, this work is more important than ever.
With every cut, chop, and toss into a woodchipper, local homes are becoming more and more protected against wildfires.
"In a fuel-reduced area, you're going to have less fuel and less stuff to burn," said Nick Jeffries with SFD.
Fuels reduction has been utilized with the Spokane Fire Department's partnership with the DNR since February, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Forest Service.
"This year was a proven testament to how catastrophic and horrible it could be," Jeffries said.
These services are spread throughout Spokane County.
"We did some research this last summer after the fires, Gray Road and Oregon Fire, and have discovered that these projects do indeed slow the fire spread down and reduce the fire intensity, allowing our firefighters to make a stand and stop the fire in its tracks," said Steve Harris with DNR.
One thing firefighters found was homes that were treated survived the wildfires.
"Ember showers, you know, littered a home with embers. But they had good defensible space around them and nothing ignitable," Jeffries said.
That's why the DNR wants to make sure all of Spokane County is prepared come next fire season. It has a 50/50 cost-sharing program that helps homeowners have this type of work done to their homes.
"DNR has a 50/50 cost-share with landowners and we have projects throughout the county that we're helping the landowners do this work themselves, or they can hire contractors," Harris said.
