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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: March 28, 2022 <br />TOPIC: Wildland Fire Mapping <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct staff pursue wildland fire mapping for Kittitas County using United States <br />Department of Agriculture modeling software supplemented with National Aeronautic <br />and Space Administration GIS datasets. Staff also desires vetting the potential for <br />technical modeling support from federal and state agencies. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Urbanization is forcing the County to consider fire evacuation planning in <br />anticipation of ongoing threat from wildfire. <br />• The United States Department of Agriculture developed the nation's first fire <br />mapping software in the 1970s. Version 5 of the software is currently in use. <br />• The National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA) provides satellite <br />imagery for county fires dating back to 2012. <br />• Using fire mapping and imagery technologies, Public Works (PW) believes we <br />can create a fire map for the county. <br />• The fire map can then be used to inform land use decisions and prioritize <br />evacuation routes for improvement and/or establishment. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Recently, Commissioner Osiadacz met with the Sheriff, CDS Director and me (Public <br />Works Director) discussing fire evacuation planning. It was agreed by all in attendance <br />to explore current technologies that might inform us as to the locations that will likely <br />benefit from improved fire evacuation routes. The discussion led us to consider the <br />science that might assist in land use decision making along with route selection. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Fire mapping modeling software has been around since the 1970s (USDA/USFS <br />"BehavePlus" poster — EXHIBIT 1). The software is currently on Version 5 (EXHIBIT 2 <br />— Version 5 user guide). Additional fire modeling software is also utilized to predict fire <br />behavior (EXHIBIT 3 — National Wildfire Coordinating Group). Since 2012, NASA has <br />utilized polar orbiting satellites to capture fire imagery and makes this data available <br />through Fire Information Research Management System (FIRMS — EXHIBIT 4 internet <br />Page 1 of 6 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2022 <br />