PORT ANGELES — State Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark told Clallam County commissioners Monday to be ready for an “ominous” fire season.
A combination of a dismal snowpack and an El Nino weather pattern are expected to dry out the forests of Western Washington in July and August, creating the potential for catastrophic fire, Goldmark said.
“The signs are very ominous about the possible severity of the season,” Goldmark said in a half-hour briefing with the county board.
Goldmark, who was elected in 2008, oversees the state Department of Natural Resources and its 3 million acres of publicly owned forests and other lands. He administers a $625 million, two-year budget.
“There’s great interest in the county community, of course, on the sustainable harvest calculation and how the board treats the arrearage issue,” said Commissioner Jim McEntire, referring to timber that DNR was authorized to sell but didn’t sell in the last decade.
“But for us here in Clallam County, the most immediate concern I think is the rather unusual fire season that we have in prospect as you very correctly pointed out.”
Goldmark suggested a meeting of state and local fire officials within the next month to “make sure
that everybody’s on the same page.”
“We need to be on our toes and ready by the time fire season officially hits right after the Fourth [of July],” Goldmark said.
“There’s some preseason work that could, and I think, should be done to make sure that we’re ready together.”
DNR establishes statewide burn bans.
Goldmark requested $4.5 million from the state Legislature to pay for fire crews and other resources to “meet the needs of what appears to be a worsening fire and weather situation here this summer.”
Meanwhile, the state Board of Natural Resources is developing a habitat conservation plan that will govern how forests on state and county trust lands are cut, Goldmark said.
Goldmark and McEntire each serve on the state Board of Natural Resources.
“We’re working on a major amendment for conservation of the marbled murrelet,” said Goldmark, referring to the small seabird that nests in old-growth forests.
“Exactly how the Board of Natural Resources reaches a decision about what conservation strategy is appropriate is yet to be determined.”
Goldmark warned county officials that the timber market has a suffered a “considerable decline” in the past six months.
“Timber revenue, I know, is important to counties, but it’s also really critically important to funding education here in the state of Washington,” he said.
“So reaching the right balance that does not make a significant hit on the revenue potential for the lands is really important.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
