Prescribed burning in Tumwater to be permissible after amendments to municipal code

Prescribed burning in Tumwater will soon be permissible after the city's public health and safety committee agreed on August 9 to recommend an ordinance amending the city’s municipal code.

Tumwater Fire Chief Brian Hurley said that prescribed burning accomplishes several goals. It replicates the natural fire that historically occurred and maintained South Sound prairies; it also removes accumulated vegetation and the noxious weed Scotch broom, providing space and conditions for native plants. It also reduces the threat of wildfire in urban areas.

Hurley recommended its implementation as an emergency ordinance to allow the ordinance to take effect immediately instead of the usual 30-day grace period after it is passed into law. This will allow burns to occur from September to October, which is the most effective period to conduct burns, according to Hurley.

Part of the ordinance involves an application process, where residents will have to apply for permits with the City of Tumwater and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR); both will inspect the burn site as part of the review process.

The applicant will also need to submit a communications plan. City staff may deem it necessary to install signs or conduct media notifications and outreach so properties neighboring the burn site will be notified in advance. Implementation of the communication plan will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Once the permits are approved, the city fire chief will retain final authority to cancel or reschedule any burns if conditions are deemed too hazardous.

Earlier this year, two property owners, Kaufmann Entities and Puget Western, sent a letter to Tumwater requesting permission to conduct a prescribed burning on 8410 Old Highway 99 SE and 3111 93rd Avenue SW.

The two property owners have entered into habitat conservation agreements with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the preservation of native prairies. At the same time, Tumwater is preparing a habitat conservation plan with the Port of Olympia for the conservation of nature prairies. Prescribed burning is typically done as part of this process, according to Hurley.

A group called the Eco Studies Institute manages and recommends plans for prescribed burning. They then work with another group that conducts the burning.

“The fire program managers have conducted more than 1000 of these burns in the last 15 years… [Burning] is generally completed within about an hour. They work to do the best they can to make sure that the smoke has the least amount of nuisance possible,” Hurley said.

The group also works with local fire departments. Hurley said this helps local firefighters obtain their wildland firefighting certification.