Fire in our Landscape

The landscapes of Klickitat County evolved with fire.

For a long time, regular fire (ignited by both lightning and indigenous peoples) helped shape local forests, oak woodlands, and grasslands by clearing out vegetation, recycling nutrients, and creating a patchwork of habitats across the land. Suppression of these fires over the past 100+ years has resulted in a landscape more prone to larger, high-severity wildfires that can be destructive to both ecosystems and communities.

Today, numerous organizations and agencies are working to help us live safely with fire as part of our natural surroundings, while reducing the risk of the most damaging wildfires to the communities and places we care about.

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