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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: May 23, 2022 <br />TOPIC: Fire Evacuation Route Planning Effort <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Endorse the proposed planning effort. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Ongoing drought conditions in the Pacific Northwest are exasperating fuel <br />conditions in Kittitas County forests. <br />• Public Works (PW) recently briefed the Board of County Commissioners on <br />recent Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fire planning efforts for the Cle <br />Elum Ridge and Teanaway forested areas. <br />• PW, in collaboration with Community Development Services has prepared a fire <br />evacuation route planning proposal for fall 2022 ending in spring 2024. <br />• PW and CDS propose a robust public outreach campaign near the end of the <br />planning effort that could result in land use restrictions in high fire risk areas. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />For the past several years, the Fire Chief s Association, PW and the Sheriff s Office has <br />flirted with the idea of identifying fire evacuation routes in high fire risk areas in the <br />county. Recent DNR planning efforts now make the effort a realistic proposition. Using <br />data generated by DNR, PW proposes leading an evacuation route planning effort <br />supported by the fire/life/safety community. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Time is running out to have a readily deployable evacuation plan in hand before the next <br />big devastating fire in Kittitas County. The science developed and utilized in DNR's <br />state required planning process, provides a unique opportunity for the county to jump <br />start a legitimate fire evacuation route planning effort (EXHIBIT 1). Collecting <br />additional data, route selection and land use overlay creation is expected to take the effort <br />into mid 2023. Public outreach and land use considerations — along with capital facility <br />plan inclusion — is expected to extend the project into second quarter 2024 (EXHIBIT 2). <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2022 <br />