THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — Representatives from the Washington Department of Natural Resources joined neighbors from Bordeaux Ranch in Thurston County to spotlight their work to get wildfire-ready -- and to spread the word about the state's Wildfire Ready Neighbors program to protect homes and properties from wildfires.
John and Candace McClung were among the neighbors who attended. John has been working to help organize notification zones for wildfires in their neighborhood and designing evacuation maps. Candace is coordinating one of the incident zones and says it was a fire in 2020 that really mobilized everyone to pull together and take action.
"We were scared because the fire was moving so fast; it was just panic," McClung said. "At the time it was kind of every man for himself. I live in an area near my neighbors and was able to reach out, but not everyone's that close to their neighbors."
They designed a system where different volunteers head up groups of neighbors to notify them if fire or smoke is spotted. They also identified evacuation routes and handed out flyers and maps depicting them. They are still working to create alternate evacuation routes -- especially for livestock, which need more room to be moved in trailers -- and are hoping for support to make the structural changes needed. Already, though, they feel more prepared.
"Next time there's a fire, it will be so much better," McClung said. "There won't be the panic that we had because we were rushing to find where to exit; most people who were home had hoses out, trying to water our roofs, water our ground."
Other neighbors have taken on other tasks-- such as organizing plans for keeping livestock safe and coordinating with fire agencies to identify and make changes to properties.
That's one of the goals of WADNR's Wildfire Ready Neighbors program. Homeowners in several counties can sign up for guidance on creating defensible space around their homes and preventing embers from sparking and catching fire.
"Very simple, inexpensive things you can do on your property to make a big difference," said Jennifer Coe, WADNR's community wildfire resilience coordinator.
The state expects the western side of Washington to experience more wildfires in the coming years and hopes people across the entire state will take action to prepare.