Washington County, Oregon Community Wildfire Protection Plan AAAuuuggguuusssttt 666,,, 222000000777 Mission Statement: To reduce the wildfire risk for Washington County residents, landowners, businesses, communities, local governments, and state and federal agencies while maintaining appropriate wildfire response capabilities and sustainable natural resource management policies, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan will identify urban interface areas and hazardous fuel conditions, identify and prioritize fuel reduction treatments, encourage and facilitate citizen and community wildfire hazard education, promote wildfire mitigation activities, and foster development of a wildfire mitigation ethic. August 2005 Murphy Road Wheat Field Fire - Washington County, Oregon This plan was developed by the Washington County Community Wildfire Protection Plan planning committee in cooperation with the Washington County Fire Defense Board and Northwest Management, Inc. (Tel: 208-883-4488 or www.Consulting-Foresters.com) Acknowledgments This Community Wildfire Protection Plan represents the efforts and cooperation of a number of organizations and agencies working together to improve preparedness for wildfire events while reducing factors of risk. Washington County Fire Defense Board Hillsboro Fire Department Banks Fire District #13 To obtain copies of this plan contact: Washington County Office of Consolidated Emergency Management Phone: 509-642-0371 Scott Porter, Director Fax: 503-642-4814 20665 SW Blanton Street Aloha, Oregon 97007 Washington County, Oregon Community Wildfire Protection Plan pg i Table of Contents CHAPTER I.................................................................................................................................................................2 1 OVERVIEW OF THIS PLAN AND ITS DEVELOPMENT..........................................................................2 1.1 GOALS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES.................................................................................................................3 1.1.1 Planning Philosophy and Goals ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.1.2 Federal Emergency Management Agency Philosophy ............................................................................................. 4 1.1.3 United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) ........................................................................................ 5 1.1.4 Additional State and Federal Guidelines Adopted.................................................................................................... 6 1.1.5 Integration with Other Local Planning Documents................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER 2...............................................................................................................................................................14 2 DOCUMENTING THE PLANNING PROCESS ..........................................................................................14 2.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANNING PROCESS ..................................................................................................14 2.2 THE PLANNING TEAM .................................................................................................................................14 2.2.1 Multi-Jurisdictional Participation ........................................................................................................................... 15 2.3 PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETINGS .............................................................................................................16 2.4 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT................................................................................................................................26 2.4.1 News Releases........................................................................................................................................................ 26 2.4.2 Public Mail Survey ................................................................................................................................................. 28 2.4.3 Public Meetings...................................................................................................................................................... 31 2.4.4 Documented Review Process.................................................................................................................................. 35 2.4.5 Continued Public Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 3...............................................................................................................................................................37 3 WASHINGTON COUNTY CHARACTERISTICS ......................................................................................37 3.1 DEMOGRAPHICS..........................................................................................................................................37 3.2 SOCIOECONOMICS.......................................................................................................................................39 3.2.1 Description of Washington County ........................................................................................................................ 41 3.3 NATURAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................47 3.3.1 Vegetation and Climate .......................................................................................................................................... 48 3.3.2 Monthly Climate Summaries in Washington County ............................................................................................. 48 3.4 HYDROLOGY...............................................................................................................................................49 3.4.1 Tualatin Valley Water District................................................................................................................................ 50 3.5 AIR QUALITY ..............................................................................................................................................51 3.5.1 Oregon State Smoke Management Plan.................................................................................................................. 51 CHAPTER 4...............................................................................................................................................................53 4 RISK AND PREPAREDNESS ASSESSMENTS...........................................................................................53 4.1 WILDLAND FIRE CHARACTERISTICS ...........................................................................................................53 4.1.1 Weather .................................................................................................................................................................. 53 4.1.2 Topography............................................................................................................................................................. 53 4.1.3 Fuels ....................................................................................................................................................................... 54 4.2 WILDFIRE HAZARDS ...................................................................................................................................54 4.2.1 Wildfire Ignition Profile ......................................................................................................................................... 54 4.2.2 Wildfire Extent Profile ........................................................................................................................................... 57 4.3 WILDFIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT ...............................................................................................................61 4.3.1 Fire Prone Landscapes............................................................................................................................................ 61 4.3.2 Historic Fire Regime .............................................................................................................................................. 64 4.3.3 Fire Regime Condition Class.................................................................................................................................. 65 4.4 WASHINGTON COUNTY’S WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE .........................................................................67 4.4.1 Potential WUI Treatments ...................................................................................................................................... 70 4.5 WASHINGTON COUNTY COMMUNITIES AT RISK.........................................................................................71 4.6 STRATEGIC PLANNING AREAS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY...........................................................................72 4.6.1 Washington County Conditions.............................................................................................................................. 74 4.6.2 Overall Mitigation Activities.................................................................................................................................