Happy Friday, Beacon readers! It may only be the first full week of the year, but it’s never too early to start thinking about wildfire season. That was the mindset at least for the Whitefish city council on Monday as they selected a firm to complete a city-specific Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
Whitefish abuts extensive forest lands on three of the four sides of the community, with local timberlands owned and managed by the state, the U.S. Forest Service and private entities such as F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co., Weyerhaeuser and Whitefish Mountain Resort. It is ranked as the second most vulnerable city in Montana to wildfire, according to the city documents.
City council members at their regular meeting Monday night voted to enter a roughly $88,000 agreement with SWCA Environmental Consultants to develop the plan, which will identify areas of risk from wildfires and recommend strategies to reduce wildfire risk in Whitefish and the surrounding areas.
“We’ve seen wildfires absolutely devastate communities,” City Manager Dana Meeker said. “As wildfires are becoming more frequent, it is crucial that our community is prepared to the extent possible.
“While we have an excellent professional fire department that responds to all types of fires in and around our community, the CWPP is the next step in addressing wildfire risks.”
A Whitefish Area Wildfire Protection Plan was developed in 2009 by the Whitefish Area Fire Safe Council, but this plan wasn’t a city procured or managed plan, Meeker said.
While Flathead County also has a Community Wildfire Protection Plan — which was most recently updated in 2021— the city’s plan being developed now will be new and specific to Whitefish and the surrounding area.
As part of the agreement, SWCA Environmental Consultants will conduct an independent review of current risk assessments available and create a more detailed and specific risk assessment analysis for the Whitefish Plan Area (see map below).
Recommendations in Community Wildfire Protection Plans often include changes to zoning and building codes, community education regarding property hardening (making homes resistant to embers and flames) and defensible space and emergency communications improvements. The plan will also address evacuation routes.
The final product will be a stand-alone plan that is coordinated with and adopted as a part of Whitefish’s state-mandated update to its growth policy — a document that will guide the city’s growth over the next 20 years.
The city is aiming to have the plan completed within the next eight months, Meeker said.
“As our community grows, it is imperative we prepare for and take action to reduce wildfire risks,” Meeker said. “The development of the plan will require collaboration with other government agencies and community members to ensure the action strategies are realistic and will achieve the desired outcome for the city to be a wildfire resilient community.”
I’m Lauren Frick, and here’s the rest of your Daily Roundup.
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