JFPD3&8

Can You Burn Or Make A Campfire? (Updated 10/20/17)

Updated for 10/20/17

If you are wondering if you can do a trash/slash burn on your property or otherwise make any kind of fire, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a decision chart to help you decide.

Remember, some burning is permitted and some burning is illegal.  Make sure you are okay to burn before you do.

While the weather is getting cooler and we have had some rain, it doesn’t take much still to start a large fire.  Be careful!

The decision chart is in Microsoft Word format.  You can download it here: FDR_IFPL Decision Form10_19

September Commissioner Meeting Minutes

  MINUTES September 14, 2017

The regular meeting of Joint Fire Protection Ferry County District 3/Stevens County District 8 was called to order at 6:55 p.m. on September 14, 2017 at the District Office by Chairperson: Charlie Cole.

Present: Commissioners Chez Young, Helen Sowards, Shirly Nevin, Steve Benell. Chief Herb Hippler, Purchasing Agent Mark Stevens and Secretary, Shauna Hippler.

Guests: Alivia

 Minutes: Helen made the motion to accept the amended minutes from August, 2017 minutes, Chez seconded. Vote was unanimous.

Resolutions: Charlie read over the current Boot Policy. Shirly read over what will be in the new Boot Policy and will write it out. The new policy will have updated requirements.

State Audit: Shirly received notice from the State Auditor for documents for the annual audit.

Contracting vs State MOB: The Red Cards that come from the district will have a special stamp with the walk test minutes which is 45 minutes vs a Red Card from a Contractor the walk test is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Red Cards from the district cannot be used for private contracting. Commissioners discussed that fire fighters will need to turn in their gear and boots if contracting.

 New Business: Chez went over “kit” specs for Northport Flatcreek Rd Station. The sheet he handed out shows how big the building would be and design.

  • Fogle Meeting on witching: Dave Meyer from Fogle insisted on having the property witched by 2 separate parties. Rod Dupuis found 2 unusable locations and Herb found usable locations. Charlie read over the Fogle contract for drilling.
  • Address: The temporary address for the NP/FC station was given as 3276F Northport Flatcreek Rd, KF WA 99144. After the road permit is given we will receive a permanent address.
  • Contact Avista: Get their crew over to look at the site. Commissioners are thinking it will take around $9,000 to get the power hooked up for the new building.
  • Snow diverter for stove chimney on storage apparatus building: Mark will get a snow diverter.
  • Gary Cotter- design septic system
  • Inspections of the stations: Barstow station will get a new “slab” in front to prevent gravel from getting on the concrete floors.

 Budget Report: Steve made the motion to approve payables, Helen seconded. Motion was unanimous.

Vouchers Audited and Certified BY THE AUDITING OFFICER AS REQUIRED BY RCW 42.24.080 and those expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090, have been recorded on a listing, which has been made available to the board. As of this date September 14, 2017 the board by a unanimous vote, does approve for payment those vouchers included in the above list and further described as follows: Accounts Payable vouchers #320237 through #320264 in the amount of $14,528.95. Also voucher 320265 in the amount of $15,925.00.

Committee Reports:

  • Buildings: Chez is doing a great job with handling the new NP/FC station.
  • Communications: None
  • Fire Safety: None
  • Recruitment: None
  • Insurance: None

Other:

Medical Officer Report:

Chiefs Report: We should have received a check in the amount of $4225.54 for the last payment of the Phase 2 grant from DNR.

The new truck in Jackson WY will be picked up September 22nd and should be in district on the 24th.

State MOB crews are home from Oregon, they had a 16 day tour, making the district $29,000.

DNR will be shorthanded next week due to crew member returning to college. Herb let them know our district would be available for emergencies outside the district.

It seems like all trucks have needed repairs and new tires or tire repairs. We will work on one vehicle at a time until all are fixed.

We will be starting a new structure training class for the new fire fighters at the end of the month.

Herb appointed a new burn tower project manager and expects to see more movement in getting it up and running. We have had to turn down State MOB requests due to staffing shortages caused by members going to contracting.

 Open Issues:

  • Burn Building – None
  • Warning signs – The new signs for the Tipton station have been installed.
  • Executive Session: 9:17 to 9:27

Helen made a motion to adjourn meeting at 9:28pm Steve seconded. Motion was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted:

Shauna Hippler, Secretary ___________________________________

Charlie Cole, Chairperson ____________________________

DNR Eases Statewide Burn Ban, Some Burn Restrictions Still in Place Across Northeast Washington

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that as the statewide burn ban on DNR-protected lands has been rescinded, some burn restrictions are still in place for parts of northeast Washington.

All outdoor burning is still prohibited in the following counties.

  • Stevens County
  • Ferry County
  • Pend Oreille County
  • Spokane
  • Okanogan
  • Lincoln

Campfires are still prohibited in Leader Lake campground in Okanogan County. In all other areas in DNR’s Northeast Region, campfires may be allowed in designated approved campgrounds. Always check first with campground host before lighting a campfire. Individual campgrounds may still prohibit campfires.

DNR staff wish to remind the public that individual landscapes or campgrounds may continue, or enact new, campfire or burning bans at any time as needed per local conditions.

To check on current DNR burning conditions, call 1-800-323-BURN or visit www.dnr.wa.gov.

In addition, individuals involved in forest operations are reminded to continue following Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) system restrictions, which can be checked at www.dnr.wa.gov/ifpl.

DNR’s wildfire mission

Administered by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 13 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned forestlands. DNR is the state’s largest on-call fire department and participates in Washington’s coordinated interagency approach to firefighting.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Janet Pearce
Communications Manager
360-902-1122
janet.pearce@dnr.wa.gov

Make Sure 911 Can Contact You In An Emergency

If you do not have a land line in Stevens County, you will not receive notifications during a reverse 911 event.
 
What is a reverse 911?  This is when 911 will call you to inform you of emergency situations.  Example: Large fire and evacuation notice or a police incident when you are requested to shelter in place.
 
This also could be used for server weather conditions.
 
If you have a cell phone, you must register you cell phone with Hyper Reach.  If you don’t have a cell phone or land line, you can also get notifications via email and social media sites.  Please follow the link to get registered with Hyper Reach.  https://signup.hyper-reach.com/hyper_reach/sign_up_page_2/?id=41001

Commissioner Meeting – 2018 Budget

The Joint Fire Protection District Ferry 3/Stevens 8 (JFPD 3/8) invites its neighbors and all volunteers to attend their October meeting when the budget for 2018 will be determined. Come and offer your input on where your tax dollars will be spent next year. This will also be a great opportunity to meet your commissioners and get to know them.

We have been very fortunate this year in that we have had very few fires in our district and those that have occurred have been small and quickly contained by our excellent group of firefighters. Training and safety have been our two highest priorities and where a lot of your tax money does go.

If you have ever considered volunteering, now might be the time. We are always looking for volunteers and you don’t necessarily have to fight fires. There are other tasks that you might want to tackle and you could be a great help to your department. And as a reminder, if we did have a major disaster here in our area, including an area-wide phone outage, go to your nearest fire station for assistance.  We currently have five stations located from north to south at Sand Creek, Orient, Barstow, Barneys Junction, and Tipton Road with station #7 soon to be at North Port Flat Creek.

We encourage you to attend the meeting on Thursday, October 12th, at 6:30 p.m. to learn more about how your tax money is spent. Our district meetings are always held at our District Office and Training Center at Barstow, next to the Kettle River Grange. See you on the 12th!

Burn ban mostly lifted for Stevens County

NOTICE AND ORDER

By order of the Stevens County Fire Marshal, and pursuant to Resolution 47-2008, adopted in regular session of the Board of County Commissioners on June 30, 2008,

OPEN BURNING is still prohibited in the unincorporated areas of Stevens County until further notice. Effective 6:00 pm September 22th, 2017,  recreational fires not exceeding 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height are permitted as well as backyard barbecues, chimneys or patio/deck warmers, as long as seasoned, (clean and dry) firewood, briquettes or propane is used as fuel.  All camp/recreational fires must be attended.

 Violations of this order shall be investigated and prosecuted by the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office/Stevens County Fire Marshal, and the Stevens County Prosecuting Attorney pursuant to the provisions of IFC Section 109.  Any person(s) conducting open burning who fails to take immediate action to extinguish or otherwise discontinue such burning when ordered or notified to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

A violation of this order is a misdemeanor and shall be punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.  (Stevens County Building Code Ordinance 02-1984 Section 7).

Signed and so ordered this 22th day of September, 2017

Kendle Allen

New Fire Truck Incoming

The district has a new fire truck coming.

Commissioner Meeting Minutes – August 10, 2017

MINUTES August 10, 2017

The regular meeting of Joint Fire Protection Ferry County District 3/Stevens County District 8 was called to order at 6:34 p.m. on August 10, 2017 at the District Office by Chairperson: Charlie Cole.

Present: Commissioners Chez Young, Helen Sowards, Dale McNitt, Shirly Nevin, Steve Benell. Chief Herb Hippler, Purchasing Agent Mark Stevens and Secretary, Shauna Hippler.

Guests: Robert Lee

Minutes: Dale made the motion to accept the amended minutes from July 2017 minutes, Steve seconded. Vote was unanimous.

Resolutions: Went over the Boots Resolution. Still nothing resolved.

Communications to the board: Lifeflight class: Will discuss this class at the Monday district meeting. This will be Lifeflight vs Medstar

New Business:

  • Temporary deed for the Northport/Flatcreek: was sent home with Shirly to scan.
  • Bids for well: Went over bids for the new well. Also Steve made the motion to approve $20,000 for a new well, Helen 2nd, vote was unanimous. Chez made the motion to “Set the pump/wire/plumb” the new well. Shirly 2nd, vote was unanimous.
  • Interview w/Julian for Yard Maintenance: Commissioners interviewed and hired Julian for Yard Maintenance for $11 an hour. First time working 4 hours to get things up to date. Motion to hire Julian was made by Dale and Helen 2nd, vote was unanimous. Mark will purchase a new trimmer to use.
  • Credit Cards: Commissioners approved to apply for a new credit card with Banner Bank, to replace the Bank of America credit card. Requesting a $7000 credit limit. The Fire Chef limit of $1000, medical officers limit of $1000, and purchasing agent a limit of $5000.  Any commissioner is authorized to request additional cards.  
  • Deadman creek Rd: Signs have been ordered for the Tipton Station.
  • Station Tours: Tours for all stations have been made for August 16th and 17th starting at 6pm each night. The 16th will be Sandcreek, Orient and Barstow. The 17th will be Tipton, Barneys and Northport/Flatcreek.

Correspondence: None

Budget Report:. Helen made the motion to approve payables, Dale seconded. Motion was unanimous.

Vouchers Audited and Certified BY THE AUDITING OFFICER AS REQUIRED BY RCW 42.24.080 and those expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090, have been recorded on a listing, which has been made available to the board. As of this date August 10, 2017 the board by a unanimous vote, does approve for payment those vouchers included in the above list and further described as follows: Accounts Payable vouchers #320209 through #320235 in the amount of $14,425.19.

Committee Reports:

  • Buildings: None
  • Communications: None
  • Fire Safety: None
  • Recruitment: None
  • Insurance: None

Other:

Medical Officer Report:

Chiefs Report: Herb discussed structure truck in Wyoming with commissioners and went over truck prices. He also went over the MOB fires and area fires.

 Open Issues:

  • Burn Building – None
  • Warning signs – None
  • Executive Session: None

Dale made a motion to adjourn meeting at 8:17pm Shirly seconded. Motion was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted:

Shauna Hippler, Secretary ___________________________________

Charlie Cole, Chairperson ____________________________

 

Work started on Flat Creek Station

Joint Fire Protection District 3 & 8 has started ground work for our new station on Northport-Flat Creek Road. Still lots of work ahead but we are off to a good start.

Campfires prohibited in many northeast Washington counties

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today campfire restrictions on lands that it protects in many northeast Washington counties.

Effective 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 11, 2017:

  • All campfires are prohibited in Ferry, Lincoln north of Highway 2, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Stevens counties are prohibited.

Daily updates on burn restrictions are available at 1-800-323-BURN or on the Fire Danger and Outdoor Burning risk map at fortress.wa.gov/dnr/protection/firedanger/ and Industrial Fire Precaution Levels map at dnr.wa.gov/ifpl.

DNR’s wildfire mission

Administered by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 13 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned forestlands. DNR is the state’s largest on-call fire department and participates in Washington’s coordinated interagency approach to firefighting.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Janet Pearce
Communications Manager
360-902-1122
360-688-3047 (cell)
janet.pearce@dnr.wa.gov

Guy Gifford
Public Information Officer
509-990-6218
guy.gifford@dnr.wa.gov

Edward Lewis
Wildfire Section Manager
Northeast Region
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
(509)710-8127
edward.lewis@dnr.wa.gov

www.dnr.wa.gov




JFPD 3&8
25266 Hwy 395 N
Kettle Falls, WA 99141
(509)738-4591

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The Joint Fire Protection District 3 and 8
Stevens and Ferry Counties, WA
All Rights Reserved.

Website Last Updated: February 19, 2025



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