Learn more about wildfire risk, strategies for staying safe
A pair of open house-style meetings in May will offer opportunities to learn more about Snohomish County’s first-ever Community Wildfire Protection Plan as well as strategies for living safer amid the trees.
“Here’s a chance to find out how to keep your family, pets and livestock prepared for wildfires and to better understand what to do if you receive notice to evacuate,” said Lucia Schmit, the County’s director of Emergency Management.
The meetings are designed to make it easy to talk with first responders, land managers and conservation agencies about options for better preparing homes, property and people for wildfire risks. Residents are encouraged to show up anytime between 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the locations and dates below:
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Thursday, May 15, Stillaguamish Conference Room, City of Arlington Public Works Office, 154 W Cox Ave., Arlington, WA 98223
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Thursday, May 22, Startup Event Center, 14315 366th Ave. SE, Startup, WA 98293
Learn more: https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3017
 Click image to learn more.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on April 11 denied Washington’s application for federal disaster relief to assist with an estimated $34 million in damage from November’s Bomb Cyclone windstorm.
The denial includes more than $18 million in reported costs from storm damage to the power grid, roads and other publicly owned infrastructure in Snohomish County.
FEMA wrote that federal disaster relief was “not warranted.” It offered no other information.
Gov. Bob Ferguson on April 14 said he plans a challenge. He offered this statement:
“There are very clear criteria to qualify for these emergency relief funds. Washington’s application met all of them. This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding. Washington communities have been waiting for months for the resources they need to fully recover from last winter’s devastating storms, and this decision will cause further delay. We will appeal.”
FEMA’s public assistance programs typically reimburse at least 75% of eligible costs related to a declared disaster.
Snohomish County Emergency Management’s 2024 annual report details how the department continues to use teamwork, training and technology to help our community remain resilient and prepared for disasters. Learn more about the agency’s response to November’s devastating windstorm, its regional role in teaching emergency management skills, and the ongoing impacts of lessons from the nation’s deadliest landslide in 2014. The report is offered as an online story map, including video and other features: https://bit.ly/DEM_2024_Report
 Click image to view report.
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