Residents urge Twisp to join FireWise, review water storage after California fires

Several residents used the Jan. 14 public comment period to press the Twisp Town Council to prioritize wildfire preparedness in light of recent large fires in California and insurer demands.

Paula Mackrow said insurers have told homeowners they must complete specified maintenance tasks within a year or risk losing coverage, adding that some requirements extend 100 feet beyond small lots. "We need to start fireproofing now to be better prepared for this coming fire season," she said and urged the town to join the district’s FireWise program.

Mark Edson asked the town to examine the effectiveness of its water storage, noting that when the PUD has shut off power during fire risk events, water delivery can be affected. He requested an investigation into elevation differences among town water tanks and the town’s water storage capacity.

Director Denham, in his staff report, described the current water system state: the reservoir across the river is three feet low (near full state), all three tanks are at maximum capacity, an altitude valve balances pressures between tanks, two wells have backup generation and the town is working to add backup power to a third well. Denham also said the town acquired pumps from Pateros and rebuilt a backup pump for redundancy.

Why it matters: Residents face potential increased insurance costs and physical risk if wildfire preparedness and water-resilience measures are not advanced. Councilmembers heard the concerns and have been engaged in emergency management coordination meetings; no specific budget or schedule for expanded fire-hardening work was adopted at the meeting.