VashonBePrepared: It’s the season to be wildfire ready

May 29, 2025 2:30 pm
VIFR firefighters trained last week on wildfire weather and firefighting tactics. In this module, a chainsaw operator works with an assistant to cut and remove brush, followed by four firefighters with hand tools clearing remaining vegetation down to mineral soil to help stop a fire’s spread. This crew includes two members of the new VIFR Wildland Firefighting Team: Josh Hernandez in the foreground and AJ Avila in the background in black helmets. (Rick Wallace photo)
VIFR firefighters trained last week on wildfire weather and firefighting tactics. In this module, a chainsaw operator works with an assistant to cut and remove brush, followed by four firefighters with hand tools clearing remaining vegetation down to mineral soil to help stop a fire’s spread. This crew includes two members of the new VIFR Wildland Firefighting Team: Josh Hernandez in the foreground and AJ Avila in the background in black helmets. (Rick Wallace photo)

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) invites everyone to a community wildfire prevention training this Saturday, May 30. As May is wildfire awareness month, the spring-summer gardening frenzy is the perfect time to take wildfire prevention steps.

While you are out there working on beautifying your outdoor space, you can take simple steps to help protect your home and your neighbors. Here are just a few ways to get started creating defensible space around your house, which is a significant part of protecting your home and neighborhood from wildfire.

• Remove all flammable items at least five feet from your home — 30 feet would be even better. Clear away debris, dead vegetation, leaves, wood scraps, and firewood.

• Prune nearby tree limbs at least six to ten feet above ground, to keep fire from climbing up trees where it can quickly spread from tree to tree.

• Wildfires throw off embers, and experts tell us that embers are the primary way that wildfire spreads to homes. Screen off the area below your deck. Clean your gutters of leaves and pine needles. Screen ventilation ports in your eaves.

• Keep your landscaping healthy, so it can resist fire better than dry, brown vegetation. Regular watering and pruning are crucial. Grass catches fire easily, so keep it mowed.

That’s just a quick list, but there’s much more you can do to help keep your home safe. Visit these three websites for expert advice.

• Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s wildfire safety page: vifr.org/wildland-fire-safety.

• The Firewise program, from the National Fire Protection Association: tinyurl.com/FireWiseHomes.

• Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Wildfire Ready: tinyurl.com/WildfireReadyPlan.

Vashon’s Wildfire Risk

Every year, we get lots of questions about wildfire risk on Vashon, especially after news comes in of town-destroying fires like the ones in Malibu and Maui. Here are a few excerpts from the VIFR wildfire risk web page.

Vashon’s Particular Risk: Our special wildfire risk on Vashon is our limited firefighting resources, even for a small incident. Small wildfires could be devastating since we have few firefighters, even fewer fire trucks, and limited accessible firefighting water.

Off-island reinforcements are at least an hour away. An hour is all it takes to destroy a home — or even a dozen homes. And many of our shoreline neighborhoods have a single road in or out, a major challenge in an evacuation.

Risk of a Malibu or Maui-level wildfire Event: The fire weather situation on Vashon is very different from California or the much drier east side of Washington state. Unlike California, we don’t often have the hot dry east (Diablo or Santa Ana type) winds that blow 60 miles per hour, suck humidity out of brush and trees, and spread fire with explosive force. The last Red Flag Warning about wildfire danger on Vashon was back in 2017. The island usually benefits from overnight cooling weather and marine humidity.

Evacuation Planning: It would be impossible to evacuate the whole island quickly. Instead, VIFR is working on neighborhood evacuation plans. Many Vashon residents live in areas with only a single access road, and we need to plan to get them to safety. We may need to advise moving to a fire haven, such as a wide beach or parking area.

VIFR Wildland Firefighting Team, community meeting

VIFR has taken steps to help prevent wildfires and to stop one if it happens.

“We are taking the wildfire threat seriously and are meeting the challenge with a whole series of wildfire prevention and fighting tactics,” said Interim Fire Chief Ben Davidson. “For example, we have created an expert wildfire team of five firefighters trained in the science of wildfire. This team will educate homeowners on how to prevent wildfires, and they will be ready to act if one breaks out. Other steps include making response plans with surrounding fire districts if a fire is moving fast and VIFR needs off-island help.”

All are invited to a VIFR community meeting on wildfire risk and what to do about it. You can learn from and pose questions to experts and get handouts with checklists — plus, you can meet VIFR’s new Wildland Firefighting Team!

The event runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 31, at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s Station 55 on Bank Road.

The event will give you practical tips on how to prepare your home and property for wildfire season. Plus, attendees will get take-home items such as wildfire mitigation kits, step-by-step instructions for hardening your home, and campfire extinguishing buckets. VIFR asks that you RSVP so they can plan for supplies. Visit vifrwildfiremitigation.rsvpify.com.