Wildfire in Washington State

WILDFIRE IN WASHINGTON STATE A Summary of the Proceedings of the 12th Annual Symposium Held as part of the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Washington State Academy of Sciences September 12, 2019, Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA November 2019 © 2019 Washington State Academy of Sciences Summary of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Symposium Wildfire in Washington State Wildfire in Washington State Summary of the Proceedings of the 12th Annual Symposium held as part of the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Washington State Academy of Sciences September 12, 2019 Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA Proceedings released November 2019 Summary of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Symposium Wildfire in Washington State About WSAS Who We Are The Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) is a not-for-profit organization of more than 300 elected members who are nationally recognized for their scientific and technical expertise. All members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine who reside in Washington State are invited to join; others are elected in recognition of their scientific and technical contributions to our nation and their desire to contribute their expertise to inform issues in Washington State. Our Mission WSAS provides expert scientific and engineering assessments to inform public policy making and works to increase the impact of research in Washington State. Our Value to Washington WSAS mobilizes the expertise of our members, plus our network of partners, to provide independent, non-advocate scientific and engineering assessments of issues that impact the citizens, government and businesses of Washington State. Our Approach We accomplish our mission by drawing on our statewide pool of distinguished members, state government officials, and other key stakeholders and experts to address critical issues facing Washington State. We organize and conduct multi- disciplinary roundtable discussions, workshops, and symposia to assess risks, identify technological opportunities, and define critical research gaps. Our use of peer review ensures the studies we conduct, programs and projects we evaluate, and reports we provide are scientifically and technically sound and unbiased resources for informing the development of Washington State policy. Learn more about WSAS on our website: www.washacad.org Washington State Academy of Sciences 901 5th Avenue, Suite 2900 Seattle, WA 98164 206.219.2401 i Summary of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Symposium Wildfire in Washington State Board of Directors Officers President Ronald Thom; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Staff Scientist Emeritus, Coastal Sciences Division Past President Anjan Bose; Washington State University, Regents Professor and the Distinguished Professor of Electric Power Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Treasurer Cathryn Booth-LaForce; University of Washington, Professor of Family & Child Nursing, Adjunct Professor, Psychology Secretary Don Baer; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Laboratory Fellow Emeritus - Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Board Members Shirley Beresford; University of Washington, Senior Roger Myers; Aerojet Rocketdyne, Executive Director Associate Dean, School of Public Health (retired) Richard Catalano, Jr.; University of Washington, Barly Dobb George “Pinky” Nelson; Western Washington University, Professor, School of Social Work Director, Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Dianne Chong; Boeing, Vice President of Research and Program (retired) Technology, Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology John Roll; Washington State University, Professor and (retired) Vice Dean for Research, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Sue B. Clark; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Associate Vice Dean for Health Sciences Research Chief Science and Technology Officer and Battelle Fellow, Michael Smerdon; Washington State University, Regents Energy and Environment Directorate and Washington State Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of University, Regents Professor, Department of Chemistry Molecular Biosciences Cynthia Dougherty; University of Washington, Professor of Usha Varanasi; University of Washington, Distinguished Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics, School of Scholar in Residence, College of the Environment, Nursing, Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine Division of Professor, School of Aquatics and Fishery Sciences and Cardiology, Nurse Practitioner, VA Puget Sound Health Care Department of Chemistry System, Department of Cardiology Jud Virden, Jr.; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Thomas Marsh; Washington State University, Professor and Associate Laboratory Director, Energy and Environment IMPACT Director, School of Economic Sciences Directorate Donna Gerardi Riordan, Executive Director, ex officio Staff Donna Gerardi Riordan, Executive Director Devon Emily Thorsell, Program Operations Manager ii Summary of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Symposium Wildfire in Washington State Preface Washington’s status as the Evergreen State is at risk. to climate change to health care. One of the greatest Large portions of our majestic forests are overcrowded, needs is for the creation of a coordinating entity that diseased, and at risk from wildfires. Local, state, and can connect these issues and provide policy guidance, federal efforts to improve forest health are yielding particularly as climatic and forest conditions continue progress, but the hotter and drier conditions expected in to change. The Washington State Academy of Sciences many places as the planet warms will increase stresses intends to continue monitoring this issue and providing on our forestlands. The long-term future of our state’s advice and guidance wherever needed. greatest natural asset cannot be taken for granted. As chair of the Symposium, I want to thank the After an unprecedented string of wildfires in recent distinguished presenters (biographies in Appendix B) who years, which burned millions of acres in our state and shared with us their expertise and insights. I also want shrouded many Washington communities in smoke for to thank Donna Gerardi Riordan, the executive director of days at a time, the Washington State Academy of Sciences the Academy; program operations manager Devon Emily decided to devote its 12th Annual Symposium to the topic Thorsell, who helped organize and run the meeting; and of wildfires in Washington State. On September 12, 2019, Steve Olson, who wrote the following summary of the many of the Academy’s 300 members, along with a wide meeting. Providing expert scientific and engineering range of policy makers, foresters, firefighters, and other assessments to inform state policy making is the principal experts, gathered at the Museum of Flight in Seattle to goal of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Few explore such topics as wildfires across space and time, the topics are as important to our state as the future of our effects of smoke on health, and the intersection between forests. wildfire research and policy. It was an eye-opening, sometimes alarming, and yet optimistic and encouraging meeting. The complexity and scope of the issues posed by wildfires in Washington State are daunting. Preparing Ron Mittelhammer for, responding to, and recovering from wildfires involve Regents Professor, Washington State University topics ranging from land use to emergency preparedness Board Member, Washington State Academy of Sciences iii Summary of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Symposium Wildfire in Washington State Table of Contents 1. Wildland Fire Protection in Washington State . 1 Deteriorating Forestlands . 1 The Ten-Year Plan . 2 Continuing Challenges . 2 2. Wildfires Across Space and Time . 4 Tribal Land Stewardship and Living with Wildfire . 4 A Firefighter’s View of Fire on the Landscape. 5 The Need for Tactical Firefighting. 6 3. Wildfires and Health . 8 Wildfire Smoke and Human Health . 8 Perceptions of Risk and Risk Reduction Actions . 9 4. Preparing for Wildfires. 12 A Science-Based Approach to Creating Fire-Adapted Communities . 12 Fire and Smoke Models in the Wildland-Urban Interface. 14 Evaluating Tradeoffs for Water, Fire, Biofuels, and Fish . 15 5. The Intersection of Research and Policy. 18 Factors Behind the Rising Cost of Wildfire Management . 18 Wildfire: Who’s at Fault and Why We Should Care. 19 Toward a Shared Stewardship Model of Wildfire Response Planning. 20 6. Concluding Reflections . 22 Appendix A: Symposium Agenda . 23 Appendix B: Speaker Bios and Photos . 24 iv Summary of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Symposium Wildfire in Washington State 1. Wildland Fire Protection in Washington State In 2018 Washington State had more than 1,800 meet the challenge in the years ahead, said Franz. With wildfires, the most in the state’s history. Of those fires, 40 fires threatening every part of the state, no wildlands or percent were west of the Cascades Mountains. Parts of the communities are safe from wildfires. state had the worst air quality in the world at times, and fires burned more than 400,000 acres — an area about the size of Thurston County, where Olympia is located. DETERIORATING FORESTLANDS “People often asked me, ‘Is this the new normal?’” A major reason for the larger and more catastrophic said Hilary Franz, Washington State Commissioner fires that have occurred in recent years is the of Public Lands, in her keynote address at the 12th deteriorating state of Washington’s forests. A hundred Annual Symposium

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