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2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan <br />Kittitas County, Washington <br /> <br /> <br />Chapter 4: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment 187 <br />compounds and nitrogen oxides produce ozone which is a highly reactive gas that is harmful to breath. <br />Wildfire smoke is highly variable in space and time. The concentration and the composition of wildfire <br />smoke can be different from fire to fire, and the composition of a smoke plume changes as the plume <br />ages (i.e., as it moves in the atmosphere). <br /> <br />Wildfire smoke poses a significant risk to the public, especially vulnerable populations (e.g., respiratory <br />conditions or disease, cardiovascular diseases, children and adolescents, older adults, pregnant women, <br />outdoor workers, socio-economic status). A reason that wildfire smoke may have different health effects <br />when compared to general urban pollution is that the constituents that make up wildfire smoke may have <br />different effects on the body. When wildfire smoke mixes with urban air pollution, the health hazard can <br />increase. For example, in urban areas where pollutant concentrations are already elevated and <br />considered “unhealthy”, the addition of wildfire smoke can push them to hazardous levels.240F <br />240 <br /> <br />The CDC recognizes wildfire smoke as a public health hazard and the Washington State Enhanced <br />Mitigation Plan acknowledges wildfire smoke as a natural hazard (under the wildfire hazard). <br />4.6.9.2. Hazard Location <br />According to the 2023 Washington State Enhanced Mitigation Plan, the region most at risk to wildfires is <br />central Washington (east of the Cascades), which includes Kittitas County.241F <br />241 Figure 4-23 illustrates the <br />annual probability of wildfire burning in a specific location, also known as the wildfire likelihood. The <br />wildfire likelihood is based on fire behavior modeling across thousands of simulations of possible fire <br />seasons which account for contributing factors to the probability of wildfire such as weather, topography, <br />and ignitions.242F <br />242 Figure 4-24 illustrates the wildfire risk to homes within Kittitas County which integrates <br />wildfire likelihood and intensity. This measures the relative consequence of wildfire to residential <br />structures everywhere within the landscape and it includes areas where structures do not exist. This <br />helps consider the wildfire risk in areas where new construction is proposed. As outlined in Figure 4-24, <br />most of Kittitas County has a high wildfire risk; and, on average, a greater risk than 100% of the counties <br />in the United States.243F <br />243 <br /> <br />Note: The Kittitas County CWPP includes more detailed mapping of wildfire risks and priority areas, <br />which serves as a critical resource for identifying vulnerable locations and guiding mitigation efforts. <br /> <br /> <br />240 Washington Region 7 Healthcare Alliance. (2024). Wildfire Smoke Response Plan (Draft). <br />241 Washington State Emergency Management Division. (2023). Washington State Enhanced Hazard Mitigation <br />Plan. Retrieved from https://mil.wa.gov/asset/651ec296d76a9/2023_WA_SEHMP_final_20231004.pdf . <br />242 Wildfire Risk to Communities. (n.d.). Understand Risk. Retrieved from https://wildfirerisk.org/understand-risk/. <br />243 Wildfire Risk to Communities. (n.d.). Kittitas County: Risk to Homes. Retrieved from <br />https://wildfirerisk.org/explore/risk-to-homes/53/53037/.