Reminder: Winter once-per-month green carts collection and Christmas Tree pickup is this week, January 6th – 10th, on your regularly scheduled pickup day. This is the final week for Christmas Tree pickup. Please have your carts and tree out at the point of collection by 6 AM on your collection day.

Wildfire Prevention

A forested area where excess vegetation, potential wildfire fuel, has been cleared

What is Wildland Fuels Reduction?

Wildland Fuels Reduction involves removing excess vegetation to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health. By thinning conifers smaller than 8 inches in diameter, forests become more resilient, lowering fire intensity and flame height. The process targets a 12-20 foot spacing between conifers, pruning remaining trees up to 10 feet. Cut materials are chipped or masticated and spread out to decompose naturally.

The Spokane Fire Department estimates that about 3,500 of the City’s 12,000 acres of public-owned lands need immediate treatment, with maintenance planned every 10-15 years. Partnering with the Washington Department of Natural Resources and City Urban Forestry, over 650 acres have been treated.

In April 2024, the department received $1.875 million through the US Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program, including a $1.5 million grant and a 25% local match. Although a second $1.5 million grant application for further work was not awarded in Fall 2023, the department will reapply in 2025.

Over the next five years, work will focus on Palisades Park, the Bluff on South Hill, and Beacon/Minnehaha Park. These areas, primarily city-owned, will be treated in phases. Homeowners are also offered assistance through Home Ignition Zone assessments, Firewise programs, and landowner referrals.

In 2025, the Spokane Fire Department joined the Spokane County Wildfire Mitigation Coalition (SCWMC), a collaborative effort to expand county-wide fuel reduction through shared resources and large-scale grants.

Treatment Areas

View a map of planned, in-progress, and completed wildland fuel reduction areas:

View Full Map

In Progress
  • 154 acres Qualchan/South Hill bluff
  • 220 acres Upper Palisades Unit 2
  • 142 acres Camp Sekani
  • 93 Upper Beacon
Completed
  • 17 acres in Austin Ravine
  • 11.6 acres at Excel Lane
  • 39 acres adjacent to Indian Canyon Golf Course
  • 24.5 acres at Romine Conservation Area
  • 17.5 acres facilitated on private lands
  • 56 acres at Palisades Park
  • 42 acres off Government Blvd. on Riverside State Park
  • 25 acres at Wyakin Park
  • 54 acres on Beacon Hill adjacent to Esmeralda Golf Course
  • 85 acres at Hangman Park on the bluff of the South Hill
  • 12 acres of private land adjacent to Government Way
  • 83 acres off Greenwood Rd. (The Pit)
  • 23 acres adjacent to Indian Canyon Golf course
  • 36 acres Greenwood Cemetery Unit 1
  • 14 acres Greenwood Cemetery Unit 2
  • 18 acres Greenwood Cemetery Unit 3
  • 12 acres Greenwood Cemetery Unit 4
  • 4 acres Greenwood Cemetery City Unit
  • 16 acres Peoples Park Dog Park
  • 102 acres Upper Palisades Park
Partnership Projects
  • 4 Firewise community Indian Canyon
  • 250 acres Dishman Hills
  • 37 acres Elk Chattaroy City parcel
  • 25 acres Eagle Ridge HOA
  • 110 acres Bear Lake County Park
  • 44-acre neighborhood of Arborvitae/Juniper Removal, San Souci
  • Firefighter cutting down a small pine tree with a chainsaw
  • Firefighters wood-chipping cut-down pine trees

Contact Information

Nick Jeffries
Wildland Resource Planner
509.625.7139
njeffries@spokanecity.org

Resources