Stations we have Carl Cook. Last Name Spelled COOK. Mr. Cook is the
Mitigation Director for FEMA Region X. Mr. Cook has five tracks for us
today regarding the threat of flooding in areas stripped of vegetation
by wildfires.

In Track one Mr. Cook talks about the dangers of flash flooding made
worse by wildfire damage and drought conditions. The track runs 1:56
seconds and the out cue is "...to protect their home". We roll in 3, 2,
1.

FEMA wants people to understand currently that there is more to worry
about the just the drought and the wildfire threat. That seems to be
what is making the news and what is causing us to prepare ourselves for
a hot and dry summer. However, there is another threat that people need
to be worried about here in the Northwest and they are not always
cognizant of it; and that is the flooding potential that often times
follows a wildfire event. What happens is the wildfire strips the slopes
of ground cover and sears the topsoil, when that happens, the soil does
not have the capacity to absorb rainfall like it does normally, there is
no vegetation to hold the soil and the water runs off quicker and many
times in addition to a flash flooding, you will have a mud flow event.
These typically occur during thunderstorms and if they occur at night,
many people can be caught off guard by the fact that they don't realize
that there is an increased flood potential caused by a recent fire
event. Therefore, many of them are not prepared. They are not prepared
personally or financially because they don't have flood insurance; Which
is thought to be something you would do if you lived near a river or a
stream, but people need to realize, if they live down slope of an area
that might be by a wildfire, they too need should look into the
possibility of buying a flood insurance policy. And Frankly, The
National Flood Insurance program is really set up to really benefit
those types of homeowners because they can get a preferred risk policy
which is relatively inexpensive, doesn't provide a huge amounts of
coverage but generally provides what they need to protect their home.

In track two, Mr. Cook talks about the need for residents to have flood
insurance to cover them in cases of flooding, secondary to drought and
wildfire conditions. The track runs 27 seconds and the out cue is
"...they can get". We roll in 3, 2, 1.

Another point to remember is often times these events are small and
isolated to the extent that they would not qualify for a Presidentially
declared disaster Which means that lots of the Federal assistance that
people seem to rely on would not be available to them and so flood
insurance because it is triggered just by and event and not by an
disaster declaration is the best protection that they can get.

In track 3, Mr. Cook tells what FEMA is doing to get the message out the
communities that maybe facing the threat of flooding subsequent to fires
and drought. The track runs 1:22 seconds and the out cue is "...no flood
mapping at all". We roll in 3, 2, 1.

FEMA is trying through the use of our Public Affairs Officer and network
to issue press releases. We are trying to educate the State Division of
Emergency Management in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska so that
they can through their network, inform people that this is a potential.
It seems to have caught on in Alaska, were wildfires are particularly
dangerous, and it has caught on pretty well here in the Northwest
because everyone of our states has experienced an event or one or more
events like this that have been very significant. The city of Boise,
Idaho that has a detention basin system because of the hill around Boise
having such a high fire potential that when they have a thunderstorm
right afterwards, they have experienced big mudflows and big flooding
events. Here in Washington State and Eastern Washington, the most recent
event was in Wenatchee and Chelan county where the fire that occurred
was so hot that the soil was sterilized and it took a long time for
vegetation to come back and all during that time, we did experience
flooding events in cannons and arroyos alluvial fans in caves and places
we had no flood mapping at all.

In track four, Mr. Cook tells what communities and residents can do
before, during, and after wildfires, droughts, and heavy rainfalls
conditions to protect their homes and property. The track runs 59
seconds and the out cue is "...even more easily". We roll in 3, 2, 1.

Before the event, you need to look at the potential for flash flooding,
that flooding that occurs relatively quickly, usually occurs in the dry
season and often occurs where there is not defined water course so it is
more difficult to recognize that you are there. The local Emergency
Management Office and the local planning office are the places to go to
find out about the potential. What they do about it if they do have a
potential for flash flooding is to one: buy the flood insurance policy
that I spoke of, and two: look at the what would be damaged if they are
in an area where they know that they've had events before then they
should look at whether they should make a structural retrofit on there
building maybe they want to elevate it above ground level so that water
can flow underneath it. They should particularly look at anchoring it so
that it is not moved off of its foundation. Water will move a house
easily enough but mud can move it even more easily.

In the fifth and final track, Mr. Cook gives specific examples of what
homeowners can do to protect their homes from wildfires and damage due
to mudslides. The track runs 51 seconds and the out cue is "...more
wildfire safe". We roll in 3, 2, 1.

It's not so much that we educate people how to prevent fires, we educate
them on how to deal with the result of a wildfire. The most important
thing is to build a defensible space around your residence. Build an
area that has vegetation that won't burn, either vegetation that is
green or no vegetation at all. In our recent fires, we've seen that
homes that have sprinkler systems seem to survive much better than those
who don't, that have nice green lawn. Trying to keep the material for
your roof made of a non-combustible material helps a lot. Look at the
siding material, look at weather you've got flammable tanks next to your
houses, gas tanks, propane tanks, that's not a good idea to have those
close by. Those are the types of things that someone could do to make
their home more wildfire safe.