# Presentation: 360573

## Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program

**A clean-air partnership success**

## Presentation Overview

**Situation**
**Research**
**Challenges**
**Key partnerships**
**Outreach strategies & tactics**
**Budget**
**Results**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Situation

**New outdoor burning restrictions Jan. 1, 2001**
**Growing density, but still largely rural**
**Yard debris burning common practice**
**Never banned except for summer fire safety**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Research

**Formal research **
**Random-sample telephone survey by research firm, Dec. 1999**
**Informal research**
**Interviews with elected officials, opinion leaders, fire officials**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Formal research

**Establish a baseline for: **
**Awareness about the upcoming burn ban**
**Attitudes toward outdoor burning**
**Current yard debris disposal practices**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Formal research

**Highlights****   (or lowlights)**
**Only 32 percent of respondents were aware of upcoming burn ban**
**Of those, 51 percent were opposed to new restrictions**
**26 percent of respondents routinely burned yard debris**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Informal research

**Growth is a big issue for Kitsap**
**Some will resent this as another “citifying” influence**
**Fire officials concerned that people will think it’s a local rule**
**Solid waste concerned wanted to  buffer county commissioners, have sensible boundary lines  **

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Challenges

**Complexities of Growth Management Act **
**Litigation over proposed boundaries**
**No local television or county-wide radio news**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Fire officials wanted even broader ban areas – beyond the growth management boundaries  -- as partnership and trust grew, they began to take ownership – decided some of the boundaries didn’t make sense

## Challenges

**Changing boundary lines**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Challenges

**Lack of good quality maps**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Key partnerships

**Fire chiefs and educators****	**
**It’s the law**
**The boundaries**
**Local restrictions, permit requirements**
**Kitsap Solid Waste**
**Available alternative**
**The boundaries**
**Lung Association, health department**
**Burning is bad for people who breathe**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
They bought in to the point where they saw an opportunity to educate their communities about local requirements – wanted people to come in and talk to them.

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Tied together with theme, consistent messages**
**“****Outdoor burning is out.  It’s the law.”**
**Messages clearly communicate available alternatives**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Insert slide with logo

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Special attention to fire chiefs and educators**
**Resource notebooks with reproducible materials**
**Banners and sandwich boards**
**Articles**
**Maps**
**Personal attention**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Insert a slide here with 

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Coordination with Kitsap Solid Waste**
**	**
**Communicate existing alternatives**
**Build support for funding new and expanded alternatives**
**Personal attention**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Special web portal – www.kitsapburnban.org**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Insert a slide here with web portal
Insert slide with ad

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Transit and newspaper advertising**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Insert a slide here with web portal
Insert slide with ad

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Rack cards, boundary maps in libraries**
**Direct mail to all potentially affected residents**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Insert a slide here with web portal
Insert slide with ad

## Outreach strategies & tactics

**Participation in fairs and events**
**Telephone hotline in county fire marshal’s office**
**Presentations, meetings, interviews**
**Personal attention**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Budget

**$160,000**
**Pre-program research -- $10,000**
**Communications consultant -- $95,000 **
**Included services, materials, advertising, post-program research**
**Direct-mail postage -- $15,000**
**Fire marshal’s office -- $40,000**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Budget

**Staff time**
**Communications department person full time**
**Contract management**
**Meetings, presentations, events**
**Relationship management, hand holding, troubleshooting**
**Inspection department staff**
**Early work with fire chiefs, continuing resource **

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Results

**Goals:**
**Achieve compliance in affected areas**
**Reduce outdoor burning to less than 15 percent county-wide**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Results

**Achieve compliance in affected areas**
**Dec. 1999 – 20 percent burn yard debris**
**Aug. 2001 – 5 percent burn yard debris**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

## Results

**Reduce burning to less than 15 percent county-wide**
**Dec. 1999 – 26 percent burn yard debris**
**Aug. 2001 – 12 percent burn yard debris**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
This is important because boundaries will be expanding

## Results

**Other results**
**Awareness increased from 32 percent in Dec. 1999 to 91 percent in Aug. 2001.**
**Opposition to the ban decreased from 51 percent in Dec. 1999 to 41 percent in Aug. 2001.**
**Relationships!!!**

- Kitsap Outdoor Burn Ban Program    Alice Collingwood

**Notes:**
Bottom line – relationships were the key.  Money helped but we couldn’t have done it without the partnerships.