NORTH BEND, Wash. — King County officials and first responders drew attention Thursday to several new resources and directives heading into fire season.
County officials said as more people move into the "wildland urban interface" - neighborhoods where homes are directly positioned near forests and other susceptible terrain - more areas are at risk.
King County Executive Dow Constantine said the county is also preparing for more intense weather conditions as a result of climate change. One of their investments includes buckets for the King County Sheriff's Office helicopter to drop water on emerging fires in hard-to-reach terrain.
"If I lived up there [where] there's a lot of space and it's hard to get firefighters up there fast, I would love to know my helicopter can get up there and help put out that fire and save my structure, life or help firefighters do their job," KCSO Special Operations Division Chief Jeff Flohr said.
The buckets and training cost under $100,000, far less than an entire aircraft would cost, according to the county. It will only be used in emergent cases when a fire is small and can be attacked quickly, not for ongoing firefights. The idea came after the Sumner Grade Fire in Pierce County.
Eastside Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief of Operations Will Aho shared that local fire agencies are also taking measures to better prepare western Washington.
"We're looking at adding more resources, more brush trucks, and as each fire department can afford to purchase more they're putting them out in strategic areas," Aho said.
The county also asked residents to take note of its evacuation alert system, first rolled out last year and already in effect in eastern Washington. It sets levels as "ready," "set" and "go" for evacuations.
"We started with Pierce, Thurston and Snohomish and teamed up to get this messaging out," Office of Emergency Management Deputy Director Alysha Kaplan said. "This year, we've added a number of counties, including Kitsap, Skagit, and Whatcom."