Area residents invited to Dec. 15 post-wildfire meeting

ENTIAT - Local agencies are hosting a community meeting this month for property

owners in the Mad River watershed area and other interested parties

impacted by this summer's Cougar Creek Fire.

The meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Entiat Fire

Hall, 2200 Entiat Way. Experts on analyzing post-fire conditions will

be on hand to talk about potential flood risks and steps homeowners

can take to be better prepared for any flooding or mud flow events.

"After a wildfire, there is a heightened potential of flooding or

debris flows," said Mike Cushman, director of the Cascadia

Conservation District. "We encourage those residents living in the Mad

River area and other burned areas below natural drainages or steep

slopes to attend this meeting and to ask questions."

Several agencies will have representatives at the event, including

Cascadia Conservation District, Chelan County Emergency Management,

Chelan County Public Works, the Chelan County Flood Control Zone

District, Chelan County Fire District No. 8, the Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NCRS) and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Cascadia Conservation District and NCRS have been working with

homeowners to alert them as to how their properties may be at risk

from debris flows or flooding from the Cougar Creek Fire, which burned

nearly 43,000 acres and later initiated a Burned Area Emergency

Response (BAER) Assessment.  A BAER assessment is a U.S. Forest

Service study of the ability of burned soils to hold water after a

wildfire.

Burned soil assessments for the fire found that the fire burned

primarily within the Mad River watershed. Within the watershed, 30

percent of soils burned at a combined high severity and moderate

severity.

Residents in the Mad River watershed, or those living below burned

areas, are also reminded to follow these post-fire tips:

*        Be aware of the weather. That means staying on top of large

rain events by following weather reports or a NOAA weather radio. Do

not wait for a warning to evacuate should heavy rain and flooding

develop.

*        Have an exit plan in place for if you should need to leave

your property. And include your neighbors in that plan. Talk to your

neighbors about forming phone trees to spread important information,

or emergency check-ins if evacuations are necessary.

*        Look into purchasing post-fire flood insurance. Go to

www.floodsmart.gov<http://www.floodsmart.gov> for more information.