Coos County adopts Community Wildfire Protection Plan, dedicates plan to firefighters who died in 2002

The Coos County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a document county staff said was developed over a year-and-a-half with federal funding, outreach to businesses and organizations, and public input via surveys and a public-comment period.

A presenter described the plan’s purpose as identifying forest-adjacent areas where work or new programs could reduce wildfire risk and noted that inclusion in the plan could open future funding opportunities for mitigation and community resilience. The plan’s dedication page honors three firefighters who died in 2002 during a commercial fire in Kuz Bay: Captain Randy Carpenter, Jeff Commons and Chuck Hanners; the presenter tied that dedication to the plan’s purpose of improving equipment, training and staffing.

Commissioners discussed a minor correction (a city omitted from a consultant list on page 27) and expressed appreciation for staff and volunteers who contributed to the document and for anyone who read the full 254-page plan. The board then moved and approved adoption of the plan and authorized signing the associated documents.

Next steps: staff said they will relay a correction to the consultant regarding the omitted city and continue to pursue funding and program opportunities identified in the plan.