The nonprofit dispatched volunteers in nearly 24 wildfire mitigation efforts throughout the U.S. in the past 16 months, including the one at Zintel Canyon earlier this month. In Kennewick, volunteers cut trees and removed branches and other overgrown vegetation that could contribute to wildfire spread.
Such work is crucial in southeastern Washington, where the fire risk is high due to the region’s dry, warm weather and strong winds.
Wildfires where wildlands and urban areas interface are a growing concern. When houses overlap with vegetation, the risk of human-caused wildfires increases, and so does the threat to lives and property.
Last summer, the Gray Fire destroyed nearly 260 homes and killed one person in Medical Lake outside of Spokane. In Zintel Canyon, the site of the recent Team Rubicon effort, a 30-acre fire a year ago caused damage to several structures, destroying one home.
“As things build out and we start looking at a lot of cities … pushing into more rural areas, you get that interface mix,” said Chad Michael, fire chief of the Kennewick Fire Department. “You have small pockets [in a city] still left fairly natural. Those are real hazards. It doesn’t take a lot of fire to get going.”
Mai Hoang
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