Wagon Wheel Workshop

KCCD staff worked with residents of Wagon Wheel community (near the Middle Fork Teanaway River) on Saturday to host a Firewise workshop.  Our consulting forester, Thembi Borras discussed Firewise practices and followed the workshop with individual home assessments for some landowners. A crew from Fire District No. 7 attended and helped with the presentation as well.

Thembi Borras (standing on far left) talks with a Wagon Wheel landowners. Thembi has already assessed a number of lots in the area (prior to Saturday's workshop) and as a result of the workshop, has requests to assess 10 more.

The fire crew from Fire District No. 7 brought their truck and spoke to the landowners about general fire safety and the importance of access routes.  These routes are both for the landowners to safely get out of an area during a wildfire and for fire crews to get in to protect homes and property.

The Wagon Wheel area has Spruce Budworm which is a problem throughout the forestlands of upper Kittitas County.  The budworms (center of above picture) eat the growing tips of the branches.  The Western spruce budworm is the most widely distributed forest defoliator in western North America. The budworms have a one-year life cycle and are actually a small moth at full maturity. During outbreaks of three or more successive years, trees may die. Budworms create ideal conditions for other insect and disease invasions. Trees that have died as a result of the budworm increase fire danger and should be removed.


AL