Division over wildfire buffer rules

Fire chiefs complained yesterday that proposed King County regulations limiting the amount of land rural residents could clear of trees and brush could exacerbate wildfires and lead to turf battles.

They said changes unveiled last week -- which county officials say specifically allow landowners to take reasonable measures to protect their homes from wildfires -- are an improvement.

However, Bud Backer, president of the King County Fire Chiefs Association, wants the county to form a committee to address concerns of rural fire chiefs before the County Council votes on the ordinances next month.

He said it's still not clear what would happen if fire officials think a landowner needs to remove potentially flammable vegetation while county biologists interested in protecting streams and wetlands disagree.

"They've made some changes to loosen up on it, but I think we're setting ourselves up for conflict," he said. "We want to ensure that people are able to clear on their property to prevent fire from reaching their homes."

At issue are the county's proposed critical areas ordinances, which have enraged rural property owners who contend the regulations amount to an unconstitutional taking of private property.

The latest version requires them to leave between 50 percent and 65 percent of undeveloped property covered in trees or native vegetation, which protects streams and lessens runoff that can cause flooding.

Backer said that message could conflict with the one fire districts have tried to send to people living in the woods: create defensible spaces around homes by removing brush, trees and vegetation that can dry out and catch fire.

Amendments proposed last week, which were specifically crafted to address concerns such as those raised by the fire chiefs, allow landowners to protect their homes from wildfires, said Harry Reinert of the county's Department of Development and Environmental Services.

Within 30 feet of a home, landowners would be allowed to cut limbs, remove brush and follow other fire-safety recommendations without getting a permit -- even within stream and wetland buffers where those activities would otherwise be prohibited, Reinert said.

The ordinances also allow homeowners to clear 7,000 square feet of property outside of a protected buffer area without having to get a county permit, he said.

Reinert said the ordinances also encourage property owners to take advantage of free technical assistance to create plans to manage overgrown forests that fuel wildfires.

"The best thing from an environmental standpoint and a fire-safety standpoint would be to have people go in and start doing the thinning to create a healthy forest," he said.

Ed Koetje, who owns 10 forested acres where a windstorm in November blew down trees like pickup sticks, said he hasn't been able to figure out whether he'd be allowed to salvage that wood, which could become a fire hazard.

County Councilman David Irons yesterday echoed the fire chiefs' concerns that the proposed regulations leave some things open to interpretation.

"Against the backdrop of the forest fires that have devastated so much of the Northwest, ... it is irresponsible to leave unanswered such basic questions about protecting property by clearing blown-down timber and dry brush around homes," he said in a prepared statement.

P-I reporter Jennifer Langston can be reached at 206-448-8130 or jenniferlangston@seattlepi.com

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