A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 53F. N winds shifting to WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..
Tonight
A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 53F. N winds shifting to WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
Rural fire districts in Wasco County have identified access roads in and out of public lands as a “significant hindrance” to fire mitigation efforts and wildfire preparedness because they are outside the county road system, and the board on Wednesday agreed to support a grant proposal that would create an inventory of those roads to aide fire mitigation and evacuation efforts.
According to the letter of support, “This is a critical strategy for reducing risk of wildfire, as it provides multiple departments and organizations key information to address hazardous conditions and opportunities for mitigation.”
“This is both to identify mitigation projects, and also identify hazards for ingres and egress for emergency service professionals and identify evacuation routes,” said Kelly Howsley-Glover, long range planner for Wasco County. Once the inventory was complete, staff could then assess the inventory to identify and prioritize mitigation projects in the county, she said.
The proposed FEMA grant of $175,000 would support a three year project. “We intend this to be a collaborative effort on the part of planning, public works and surveyor, and emergency management,” she said. “With fire seasons becoming longer and more devastating, we need all available tools to help our partners mitigate the risk and impacts of wildfire.”
Wasco county has about 270 miles of public access roads, according to an estimate by Public Works Director Arthur Smith.
Areas of particular concern include the Pine Grove and Mosier areas, Howsley-Glover said. The surveyor crew will use their drone capabilities, or possible a vehicle mounted camera, in making the assessment, she said. “It gives us two sets of low-level data to make the assessments,” she said.
“Our planning team has been working hard on this,” said Commissioner Steve Kramer, who said he fully supported the request. Letters of support for the grant were also provided by area fire agencies, emergency planners and the Oregon Department of Forestry, Howsley-Glover told the board.
The letter of intent will be submitted to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, and if they like the proposal they will then be asked to submit the full grant.
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