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CHAPTER 15. WILDFIRE <br />15-14 <br />Table 15-10. Loss Estimates for Buildings Exposed to Wildfire Hazard <br />Jurisdiction Assessed Value 10% Damage 30% Damage 50% Damage <br />Cle Elum $0 $0 $0 $0 <br />Ellensburg $0 $0 $0 $0 <br />Kittitas $0 $0 $0 $0 <br />Roslyn $0 $0 $0 $0 <br />South Cle Elum $0 $0 $0 $0 <br />Unincorporated Kittitas County $966,026,000 $96,602,600 $289,807,800 $483,013,000 <br />Total $966,026,000 $96,602,600 $289,807,800 $483,013,000 <br /> <br />15.6.3 Critical Facilities and Infrastructure <br />Critical facilities of wood frame construction are especially vulnerable during wildfire events. In the event <br />of wildfire, there would likely be little damage to most infrastructure. Most roads and railroads would be <br />without damage except in the worst scenarios. Power lines are the most at risk from wildfire because most <br />poles are made of wood and susceptible to burning. Fires can create conditions that block or prevent access <br />and can isolate residents and emergency service providers. Wildfire typically does not have a major direct <br />impact on bridges, but it can create conditions in which bridges are obstructed. Many bridges in areas of <br />high to moderate fire risk are important because they provide the only ingress and egress to large areas and <br />in some cases to isolated neighborhoods. <br />15.7. FUTURE TRENDS IN DEVELOPMENT <br />The highly urbanized portions of the planning area have little or no wildfire risk exposure. Urbanization <br />tends to alter the natural fire regime, and can create the potential for the expansion of urbanized areas into <br />wildland areas. The expansion of the wildland urban interface can be managed with strong land use and <br />building codes. The planning area is well equipped with these tools and this planning process has asked <br />each planning partner to assess its capabilities with regards to the tools. As Kittitas County experiences <br />future growth, it is anticipated that the exposure to this hazard will remain as assessed or even decrease <br />over time due to these capabilities. <br />15.8. SCENARIO <br />A major conflagration in Kittitas County might begin with a wet spring, adding to fuels already present on <br />the forest floor. Flashy fuels would build throughout the spring. The summer could see the onset of insect <br />infestation. A dry summer could follow the wet spring, exacerbated by dry hot winds. Carelessness with <br />combustible materials or a tossed lit cigarette, or a sudden lighting storm could trigger a multitude of small <br />isolated fires. <br />The embers from these smaller fires could be carried miles by hot, dry winds. The deposition zone for these <br />embers would be deep in the forests and interface zones. Fires that start in flat areas move slower, but wind <br />still pushes them. It is not unusual for a wildfire pushed by wind to burn the ground fuel and later climb <br />into the crown and reverse its track. This is one of many ways that fires can escape containment, typically <br />during periods when response capabilities are overwhelmed. These new small fires would most likely <br />merge. Suppression resources would be redirected from protecting the natural resources to saving more <br />remote subdivisions.