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<br /> <br /> <br />Community Wildfire Protection Plan 50 September 2018 <br />6 Promoting a Fire Adapted Kittitas County <br />Promoting fire adapted communities focuses on <br />preventing, preparing for, and protecting lives and <br />properties during wildfire events and ensuring a full <br />recovery. A fire adapted community considers all <br />aspects of its built environment, including homes, <br />businesses, infrastructure, main streets, critical <br />facilities, cultural sites, hospitals, and more. <br />There are many paths to becoming fire adapted, <br />such as through education, mitigation, policies, and <br />regulations. Fire adapted communities may <br />implement established national programs, such as <br />Firewise Communities/USA (Section 6.2) and Ready, <br />Set, Go! (Section 6.5), develop a CWPP, enhance <br />local capacity, conduct fuel reduction and forest <br />management activities, and use codes and ordinances to regulate development in fire-prone areas. <br />The more actions a community takes, the more fire adapted it becomes. However, because <br />communities have limited resources, strategic identification of actions is necessary to best leverage <br />fire adaptation at the local level. Promoting a fire adapted Kittitas County also requires alignment <br />with activities for restoring resilient landscapes and improving wildfire response. <br />6.1 Fire Adapted Communities in Kittitas County <br />The Hidden Valley – Swauk neighborhood was heavily impacted by the Taylor Bridge wildfire in 2012. <br />After that experience, many residents <br />convened and took action on their own <br />properties and area. Since that time, the <br />Hidden Valley – Swauk Fire Adapted <br />Community has completed $6,000 in fire <br />adapted work. In 2016 through 2017, the <br />Hidden Valley – Swauk Fire Adapted <br />Community has participated in cost-share <br />funding for 20 acres of fuels reduction <br />treatment, residents removed 60 yards of <br />vegetation and six residents used the Roving <br />Chipper Program for chipping. Hidden <br />Valley-Swauk residents spent 239 hours of <br />labor in the following perimeters: 0- to 5- <br />foot Home Ignition Zone (HIZ), 5- to 30-foot