10828 Littlerock Road Southwest
Olympia
South Thurston County residents are invited to share their ideas, concerns, and hopes for the South Thurston Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Attendees will learn about the
plan that is currently under development, access resources to help prepare for wildfire and emergency preparedness, and share their ideas regarding wildfire risk and resilience. This is a family friendly event with hands-on activities and light refreshments.
What: The South Thurston CWPP is a joint effort of community stakeholders who are all working together to address wildfire risk in South Thurston County. This plan will help the community identify their specific wildfire protection needs and priorities, and to improve resilience within the community. Thurston Conservation District is contracting with Ross Strategic to complete the plan by June 2025. More than twenty community stakeholders are involved in the creation of this plan. The final plan will reflect community goals and values as well as regional fire behavior, on-the-ground conditions, and critical infrastructure in the area. South Thurston refers to a combined 388 square miles in southern Thurston County served by the West Thurston, South Thurston, Southeast Thurston, and Bald Hills Fire Districts. This project is important as wildland fire is becoming a growing risk in Thurston County. According to the recently completed Thurston County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazards Mitigation Plan, about 65% of Thurston County’s population resides in areas mapped as Wildland-Urban Interface or Wildland Urban Intermix, posing a risk to public health and property to almost 200,000 people and nearly 70,000 structures. According to the University of Washington’s publication “State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound,” increased air temperature and drier conditions are expected to
increase wildfire activity in the Puget Sound region, even though the area is not thought to have been fire prone historically. This CWPP will set a strategy to help South Thurston County prepare for wildfire events to protect communities and structures.
This event is family friendly and will include hands on activities for all ages.
Please RSVP to Jae Townsend (jtownsend@thurstoncd.com
