The SuperTanker, shown at work on wildfires in California earlier this year, can drop up to 19,000 gallons of retardant or water.
Hilary Franz, the state’s Commissioner of Public Lands, will visit the Methow Valley on Monday (April 19) to help launch “Wildfire Ready Neighbors,” a state program described in a press release as “a collaborative effort between the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, regional fire districts, community partners and local wildfire experts, to better prepare those most at risk.”
“The effort connects wildfire experts with residents so that they can take proactive action this spring to help protect their homes and surrounding property from wildfires,” according to the release.
The event will take place from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at 33 Larkspur Drive in Winthrop, in the Sun Mountain Ranch Club, which the release noted is a community of 300 homes “in a high-risk area.”
Franz will discuss how Wildfire Ready Neighbors will work, where and when it will launch first, and how residents can sign up to get a free action plan.
Okanogan County Fire District 6 Chief Cody Acord, and Karen Mulcahy, a valley resident and Wildfire Ready Neighborhood captain, will also be on hand.
Wildfire season in Okanogan County begins Monday, the release said.
“Over the last five years, wildfires have grown more intense, resulting in greater impacts to our communities,” according to press release. “Last year’s wildfires rivaled the historic 2015 wildfire season that saw more than 1 million acres burn and cost the state more than $342 million.”
