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Four-Part Wildfire Prevention Television Series DNR partners with NW Compact members
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today that it has completed a four-part television series on wildfire prevention topics in partnership with three members of the Northwest Compact: Washington State, Province of British Columbia and the Province of Alberta. The Northwest Compact is a fire protection agreement used to share resources across borders to promote effective prevention, pre-suppression and control of wildland fires.
"DNR is pleased about this partnership and the upcoming series on various wildfire prevention topics," said Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland. "There are many things homeowners can do to prepare for a catastrophic wildfire."
Ciscoe Morris, master gardener and certified arborist, narrates all four shows. Topics include: Communities Taking Action; Beetle Invasion; Fighting Fire with Flowers; and Fire Resistant Home and Landscaping Ideas. These 30-minute shows will begin airing one per week on Northwest Cable News Stations at 5:00 p.m. each Saturday beginning July 22 and KREM-TV (CBS affiliate based in Spokane, Washington) at 3:30 pm each Sunday beginning July 23.
The purpose of this international collaborative effort is to raise public awareness about the increasing fire danger potential in the forests, including urban and community forests. The film will educate homeowners on how they can better protect themselves from wildfire. Expanding population and land-use changes are contributing factors to the decline in forest health conditions. Some unhealthy forests are experiencing invasions of beetles that attack forests weakened by disease and drought. Beetle-killed and diseased trees contribute to an abundance of both ground and ladder fuel, which increases the risk of high-intensity wildfires.
"This is a great opportunity to address a common problem that knows no borders," said the Honorable Rich Coleman, Minister of Forests and Range with the Government of British Columbia. "Fire prevention is critical, and these television shows will help educate and encourage people who live in wildland urban interface areas to reduce wildfire risk around their homes, properties and communities."
"We're very pleased with the results of this joint effort," said Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Minister David Coutts. "This series will be another important tool in our fight to protect people and communities from wildfires."
The Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana in the United States and British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and the Northwest Territories in Canada. Through this agreement, resources are shared across borders to promote effective prevention, pre-suppression and control of wildland fires.
For more localized information log onto: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/, http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/Protect/ or http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/.
DNR's approach to prevention, pre-suppression and control of wildland fires DNR is a member of the Northwest Compact promoting effective prevention, pre-suppression, and control of forest fires in the northwest wildland region of the United States, and the adjacent areas of Canada. Members of the NW Compact include: Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, the Yukon Territory, the Province of British Columbia and the Province of Alberta.
DNR's wildfire mission DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 12.7 million acres of private and state-owned forestland. DNR is the state's largest on-call fire department, with hundreds of people trained and available to be dispatched to fires as needed. During fire season, this includes several hundred DNR employees who have other permanent jobs with the agency, about 300 seasonal workers, and about 500 Department of Corrections inmates who participate in the Washington Work Camps Program. DNR also participates in Washington's interagency approach to firefighting.