A dozen years ago, LRATA discovered that a small part of Susan Road, in use since the Second Addition was added to the First years ago, ran across private property. After consultation with legal counsel, the Board proposed to trade the property under an unnamed and unimproved road right-of-way between Meek and Susan Roads for the private property under Susan Road. That proposal was acceptable to the affected property owners and was approved by the remainder of the development’s property owners.

It was later learned that to obtain the rights needed to trade the property under the unnamed and unimproved road, the Association was required to petition Okanogan County to vacate that road. It was also learned that the County could seek compensation for vacating a road. When the petition was presented to the County, the County Engineer informed the Association that vacation of that road would result in the adjoining Meek Road becoming a “dead end” over 600 feet in length. County Road Guidelines required that, as a result Meek would need to be provided with a turn-around so emergency vehicles could maneuver.

The Association worked with Okanogan County Fire District 6 personnel to identify the changes needed to Meek Road. Once the necessary tree removal, widening, grading, etc. were completed, they were verified by the FD6 Assistant Chief and he sent a letter to the County Engineer.

The petition to vacate the unimproved road was discussed at a County Commissioner’s Hearing on December 11, 2023 and was conditionally approved, subject to the County receiving compensation for the road vacation in the amount of $21,124.60 by July 31, 2024.

Since that hearing, information has come to light suggesting that the originally developer deeded that property under Susan Road to the Association. Further investigation has shown that not to be true since no recorded plat amendment depicting an extension of Susan Road through Lot 35 can be located.

It is recommended that the Board pay the required compensation to the County within the time allotted as further efforts to find a different resolution are likely to be more costly.

Ron Suter

August 2023, V2

FIREWISE® RISK ASSESSMENT COMPLETED
The LRAA neighborhood National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Residential  Wildfire Hazard Assessment was completed by Eli Loftis, Okanogan County Conservation District and Will Knowlton, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on May 30th, 2023.

LRAA Firewise Risk Assessment Results:
LRAA is in the High Risk Category but there are things we can do to help!

• LRAA is a unique community and united on fire! Residents were very engaged during the assessment and open to discussing improvements. Radiant heat is a PROBLEM and a fire in close proximity to your house increases the risks of fire and smoke inhalation. This is why creating defensive space is important.

• Removing the wood piles from your porch and under the porch will help protect your entire home from burning down. Remember ALL buildings need to be protected, not just houses.

• Pick up/rake all flammable vegetation (dead branches, brush, stumps, logs) on your property.

• Use the LRAA community chipper to remove dead brush piles

• Trim your trees lower limbs 15’ up off the ground

• Trim tree branches within 15’ within a chimney or stovepipe

• Trees close to your home are a risk, consider creating a 30’ defensible space around your home without trees.

• Order blue reflective address signs so emergency vehicles can locate you quickly.

LRAA MEMBER NPFA RISK ASSESSMENT RESULTS ZOOM MEETING • September 13, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Will and Eli to go over the fire risk assessment results. You can also use this opportunity to ask Will and Eli questions about how to protect your property from fire. Spoiler alert…our neighborhood is in the high risk category for fire. The meeting will cover  why the risk here is so high and what we can do to reduce fire fuel so we have a home to come back to if a fire does rip through. 

Important! Please email Bahia Rowan [LRAA.business@gmail.com] LRAA business manager by September 5th if you have any questions you would like answered by the experts during the meeting. Will and Eli have asked for questions in advance to best prepare.

Join Zoom Meeting
Time: Sep 13, 2023 04:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83562309582?pwd=ZnpTYnAzTXNUVmNaRW85cU5MQkZqZz09

Meeting ID: 835 6230 9582
Passcode: 542005
Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 835 6230 9582
Passcode: 542005
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kedC1zwHr

FREE MONEY FOR DOING FIRE MITIGATION WORK ON YOUR PROPERTY
We are working to become an official Firewise neighborhood. The benefit to becoming a Firewise neighborhood is we have an opportunity to receive funding to help make our neighborhood safe from fire from your individual contributions. And you as property owners can earn money doing the mitigation work. See the program details:https://www.dnr.wa.gov/cost-share

Please note that nothing will ever be done to private property without the consent from the owner. It is your personal choice to participate.

FREE HOME FIREWISE ASSESSMENT WALK THROUGH
Will and Eli will do free home assessment walkthroughs with any homeowner that would like one done. You can do it yourself using the Firewise assessment online, but it’s a lot more informative to have Eli and Will come out. They request doing at least 4 houses at a time as they live in the town of Okanogan. So gather up your neighbors and schedule a time with them directly if you’d like! Contact eli@okanogancd.org.

EVACUATION MESSAGE TO ALL RESIDENTS
When the neighborhood is at a Level 1 & 2 evacuation, leave via Lost River Airport Association via Lost River Road. No other road option is safe or feasible in most vehicles. Do not rely on the airstrip or additional resources to help, FS or Fire Dept are not guaranteed to come get you.

HOW STAY INFORMED ON FIRES & SMOKE IN THE AREA
If you’d like to stay informed on when fires are near us and evacuation levels you can sign up for Okanogan County alerts. It’s great to know whether you’re a part-time or full-time resident. Links can also be found on the LRAA website Home page.

Okanogan County Emergency Management
WA Smoke - Smoke tracking
AirNow - Air Quality Monitor App
Purple Air - Air Quality Monitor App (There’s a Purple Air monitor at LRAA.)
Inciweb - Up to date fire reports
National Interagency Fire Center - Fire tracking map
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Facebook

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Fire Adapted Methow Valley - We invite you to explore the resources shared on the Fire Adapted Methow Valley website that are relevant to our Methow Valley including some highlights listed below.

• Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions - This is a fantastic article – well worth reading.

• Fighting Fire with Fire - Includes a video about home loss in Rising Eagle fire and rebuilding using Firewise principles. Definitely watch the video!

The Firewise USA website and its information on the FirewiseUSA program provides you with a structure for actually preparing for wildfire and how to engage folks in your neighborhood. This site will help with:

• the reasons WHY this work is so important,

• HOW the dry east of the mountains, fire-prone and fire-shaped ecosystemsfunction and remain healthy,

• WHAT do people mean when they say restoration work is needed in our forests,

• WHAT is wildfire risk mitigation and why is it important.

Thank you from your Firewise Committee…
Nick Glatt, Pam Saxton, Maria Hines, CB Thomas, Malcom Griffes, Caryn Darmer

A Burn Ban will be in effect from August 4, 2023 12:01 AM (midnight) until further notice. A Burn Ban is implemented when High Fire Conditions exist prohibiting ALL OUTDOOR BURNING, including recreational fires.

• ALL field/pile/rubbish/rule/slash/yard vegetation or non-emergent agricultural burning on private lands within the unincorporated areas of Okanogan County is PROHIBITED, reducing the risk of wildfires.

• Recreational fires are NOT ALLOWED.

• When rescinded, the Burn Ban will revert back to a Burn Restriction.

Questions? Please visit the Okanogan County Burn Ban Information page.

Great news! Methownet and Okanogan County Electric Coop have partnered to bring federally-funded fiber to up to 2600 homes in the OCEC service area. The project size is limited by the funding source, so please check out our online map to see if your address qualifies for FREE installation! Follow the sign-up instructions below, so we can schedule the build-out…

1. Visit https://okanogancountyconnect.com/FiberMap.html and enter your address.

2. If your address shows correctly on the map, please select “Yes”. If not, please select “No”.

3. The next screen requests your contact information. This enters your information into a database of customers who want a fiber connection.

We will contact you once we determine the terms of monthly service and give you the opportunity to schedule an installation when work is being done in your neighborhood.

WHY A FIBER CONNECTION?

• Lightning fast! Fiber to the home is designed for symmetrical speeds, which makes it faster to upload and download data. Our fiber accounts start at 100M/100M.

• Robust fiber connections have the bandwidth to support multiple devices and users at the same time within a household.

• Stable fiber optic networks are not susceptible to inclement weather, overgrown trees, or snow loads.

• Dependable service - no throttling, data caps, or overage charges.

• A fiber connection can save money when you disconnect a land line telephone and satellite TV.

• With Methownet you can bundle our affordable VOIP phone service.

The project is expected to be completed by late 2025. Future funding is anticipated for the remainder of OCEC membership.

Questions? Please visit the Okanogan County Connect website or attend the final Town Hall meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 26 @ 5 PM at the Winthrop Barn.

A Burn Restriction will be in effect from June 15, 2023 12:01 AM (midnight) through October 15, 2023 at 12:01 AM (midnight). The Burn Restriction is activated by a set date, but may be implemented earlier or extended due to conditions.

• ALL field/pile/rubbish/rule/slash/yard vegetation or non-emergent agricultural burning on private lands within the unincorporated areas of Okanogan County is PROHIBITED, reducing the risk of wildfires.

• Recreational Fires are ALLOWED during a Burn Restriction if used for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth, or similar purposes and the fuel being burned is other than rubbish. Fires used for debris disposal purposes are NOT considered recreational fires. Recreational fires must be contained in a concrete, rock, or steel ring (made from non-combustible material), no larger than 3-feet in diameter and no less than 8-inches in height. The fire (flames) shall be no higher than 2-feet and not conducted within 25-feet of a structure or combustible material. Recreational fires SHALL be attended to at all times.

• When high fire conditions exist, a County Wide Burn Ban will be implemented PROHIBITING ALL OUTDOOR BURNING, including recreational fires. When rescinded, the ban will revert back to a Burn Restriction.

Questions? Please visit the Okanogan County Burn Ban Information page.

May 2023, V1

We’d like to introduce the newest committee to the HOA. We now have a Firewise Committee working to keep our neighborhood safe and increase our preparedness in the event a fire should impact our neighborhood. Below is some information that may be helpful in understanding who we are and what we strive to do.

If you have any questions, feedback or anything you’d like more information on, please contact us via the Contact Us page. (Select “Firewise” from the dropdown topic menu in the contact form.)

This is the first newsletter for LRAA so we look forward to engaging the community and providing resources that help YOU!

What is a Firewise USA® Community?
Living here in the Methow Valley safely and responsibly requires adapting, understanding the risks and taking action to better prepare for, respond to and recover from wildfire. There are things you can do to protect your home and neighborhood as well as your family’s safety. The Firewise USA® program will help our community with this preparedness and improve our resilience to wildfire.

• For detailed information on what this program is and for helpful information, please visit Firewise USA

• Do residents have to participate? No, this is completely optional and highly recommended!

Who are the Firewise committee members?

• Nick Glatt

• Pam Saxton

• Maria Hines

• CB Thomas

• Malcom Griffes

• Caryn Darmer

Committee Updates as of May 2023

• LRAA has been awarded a Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) micro grant for $3,000. With the recommendation of DNR and the firewise committee we determined the best use of these funds are to protect our HOA propane tank and HOA generator near the fire hall against fire explosion by clearing the brush near it, laying down weed cloth and surrounding it with gravel. This work will be completed by early June in advance of the summer season.

• Please email us if you’d like to come help spread the gravel around when it arrives, meet committee members and take a step towards keeping our community safe. We’ll be throwing a couple short community work parties in May!

• We will continue to look for funding to help with fire safety and are actively working with our DRN and Forest Service representatives.

• Our next step is to complete a community firewise assessment as an aspiring Firewise USA® community. This assessment will help us understand our vulnerabilities and provide guidance specific to LRAA on how we can better protect our neighborhood. This will also give us access to more resources that we can leverage to protect our neighborhood from fire.

What can you do to protect your property against fire?

• Order blue reflective address signs so emergency vehicles can locate you quickly.

• Perform a self-inspection home firewise assessment of your property.

• Earn rebates for clearing small trees, limbing, raking or any action you take to help clean your property of debris that could be a fire hazard. Information on rebates and what’s required can be found at https://www.dnr.wa.gov/cost-share.

FAQ

Q: How many unexpired fire extinguishers should I have in my home and where should they be?
A: Check out the safety checklist.

Q: During fire season in case of an evacuation, what essentials should I keep packed and ready for us and our pets?
A: Read this handy essentials sheet.

Q: Do your guests or renters know when there is a fire ban?
A: It’s posted on the large green sign as you enter the HOA and on the LRAA website. If someone has an illegal fire burning during the burn ban, call 911 so they can handle it.

Additional Resources

Purple Air - Air Quality App

National Interagency Fire Center - Fire tracking map.

Fire Adapted Methow Valley - We invite you to explore the resources shared on the Fire Adapted Methow Valley website that are relevant to our Methow Valley including some highlights listed below.

• Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions - This is a fantastic article – well worth reading.

• Fighting Fire with Fire - Includes a video about home loss in Rising Eagle fire and rebuilding using Firewise principles. Definitely watch the video!

The Firewise USA website and its information on the FirewiseUSA program provides you with a structure for actually preparing for wildfire and how to engage folks in your neighborhood. This site will help with:

• the reasons WHY this work is so important,

• HOW the dry east of the mountains, fire-prone and fire-shaped ecosystemsfunction and remain healthy,

• WHAT do people mean when they say restoration work is needed in our forests,

• WHAT is wildfire risk mitigation and why is it important.