Jefferson County talks fire level criteria

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 29, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County has been having “unique” weather this year that has made making long-range fire season predictions more difficult, the deputy fire marshal said.

Deputy Fire Marshal Brian Trace spoke to the Jefferson County Commissioners during their meeting Monday about the process that’s used to declare fire danger levels.

A “High Fire Danger” was declared for the county July 22.

“Our weather this year is a little unique,” Trace said. “It’s been a little different than years past, where we can try to predict seven to 10 days out. This year, for the last three or so months, we’ve only been able to predict three or four days out, even with all the weather models that are out there.”

The county has five fire danger levels: Low, moderate, high, very high and extreme. Right now, with a high fire danger, fireworks, charcoal grills, exploding targets, incendiary ammunition, firearm discharge on unimproved county lands, tiki style torches and open flame devices are prohibited.

“When the fire danger is ‘high,’ fires can start easily from most causes and small fuels (such as grasses and needles) will ignite readily,” the county website states. “Unattended campfires and brush fires are likely to escape. Fires will spread easily, with some areas of high-intensity burning on slopes or concentrated fuels. Fires can become serious and difficult to control unless they are put out while they are still small.”

Atmospheric conditions in the county met the ordinance standards required to raise the fire danger level to high last week, Trace said.

“We found that, in addition to the sunshine and our 90-degree weather that we had last week, our fuels have dried to the point where they’ve become critical,” Trace said. “And that any fire that would be started in a wildland event would carry and would carry a lot.”

Jefferson County is expected to see temperatures in the 80s next week, he said.

The fire marshal’s office works with the fire chiefs in the county and, this year, with a state Department of Natural Resources meteorologist to study the weekly atmospheric conditions and determine if the necessary “triggers” are present to justify raising the fire danger level, Trace said.

“We use what’s called the ERC, or the energy release rate, for our fuels,” he said. “So those flashy fuels, those grasses, those small sticks and shrubs that fall and whatnot, all the way up to what we call the thousand hour fuel, which are those big 8- to 10-inch pieces of firewood. What is the humidity within those? So we look at what the weather is doing with regard to is it raining? Is it sunny? What’s the temperature? What’s the relative humidity? And how does it affect those fuels?”

The number of hot days the county has had in addition to how dry the weather has dried fuels to the point where they would hold fire and move rapidly, Trace said.

“So, trying to predict (the fire danger level) is not just a one-day, knee-jerk reaction,” he said. “That’s why we have our meetings every week. … We’re looking at a whole bunch of different information provided by our weather stations through NOAA, through the forest service that are around our peninsula, specifically on the east side of Jefferson County.”

During Monday’s meeting, the commissioners also held a public hearing regarding two applications for Conservation Futures Funding.

The first application is for $395,000 for the acquisition of one 41.83-acre parcel located on Dabob Bay in Quilcene. The land purchase would create protected open space along 1,403 feet of shoreline.

The second application is for $43,312.50 to purchase a conservation easement on one parcel near Discovery Bay in Port Townsend. The easement would allow for trail right-of-way access for the larger Olympic Discovery Trail network.

No one spoke during the public hearing. Commissioners approved both applications.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.