In 2013, a grass fire threatened a dozen homes or more in Ocean Shores. City officials fear a conflagration fueled by oceanic winds could do much more than threaten unless a firebreak is engineered along the coast.

Many, if not close to all, “beachfront” properties in Ocean Shores are actually separated from the sand dunes, beaches and the Pacific Ocean by a veritable wall of vegetation. Tall, dense flora grows along several miles of coastline and much of it is something called Pacific Wax Myrtle, which can be extremely flammable when dry.

Native Plants PNW states, “Pacific Wax Myrtle is found along the Pacific coast from Grays Harbor, Washington to Southern California, with an isolated population on Vancouver Island.” The USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service describes it as “a large evergreen shrub or small tree, 10 to 35 feet high.”

According to the United States Forest Service, “Wax Myrtle stems die quickly. The stems and foliage of southern bayberry contain large amounts of aromatic compounds that are quite flammable, making it a potential fire hazard.”

In order to prevent catastrophic damage from a potential wildfire along the Ocean Shores coastline, city officials are clamoring to develop a firebreak along much of the peninsula.

According to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, “A firebreak can be a barrier of fire-resistant vegetation, non-flammable materials, or exposing the bare ground to halt the growth and to stop the fire from escaping the burn unit. … There are three categories of firebreaks: Natural, Existing, or Constructed.”

Scott Andersen, the Ocean Shores City administrator, would like to see a firebreak similar to one that was put in place along “hotel row.”

“That growth has gotten extremely thick. It’s like a wall. What we would like to do is create an extension of the same type of firebreak that was put in on hotel row for public safety purposes,” Andersen told KOSW Radio. “If we get a bad wind on a hot sunny day, we could be looking at a situation like we saw in Hawaii and California. It could be bad. The only other break is Ocean Shores Boulevard, and then the only one after that is the Grand Canal. Wax Myrtle is extremely flammable when it’s dried out.”

However, as with the hotel row firebreak, the city will have to work with different agencies and seek their approval before such a firebreak can be engineered. State Rep. Adam Bernbaum, D-24th District, recently met with Ocean Shores Mayor Frank Elduen, Andersen and Ocean Shores Fire Chief Brian Ritter to discuss the issue. Rep. Bernbaum’s office is following up with the Washington Department of Ecology.

“Ryan (O’Connor), my legislative assistant, has been meeting with (the Washington State Department of) Ecology,” Rep. Bernbaum told KOSW Radio. “I think they have had a handful of meetings to see if there is some opportunity to deal with this issue at the agency level just to see if Ecology can be flexible about getting the city the permission that they need to expand the break and if that doesn’t work we’ll look at something legislative in the next session.”

Chief Ritter explained that a firebreak would not only protect property but also give firefighters more maneuverability when combatting a wildfire.

“If you are on the dunes side of the beach, there’s a bunch of vegetation that is unmanaged, some of these trees and plants are 25-30 feet high. It has the potential to become Wildland Urban Interface firefighting where it’s starting to encroach on the condominiums, the hotels/motels and the homes,” Chief Ritter said. “We would like to see a firebreak go from the Chance (a la Mer) approach all the way down to Marine View Drive, hopefully 50 to 100 feet wide if at all possible. That would give us time to set up a defensive fire (tactic) rather than chasing it through homes and things like that.”

According to Chief Ritter, natural environment considerations can be a stumbling block when it comes to working with state agencies and trying to get a project like this proposed firebreak accomplished.

“We have some hurdles we need to try to jump through with the Department of Ecology. I do know the part of the Dune Trail does involve some wetland areas, but we’re going to try to work with the Department of Ecology to see if we can come up with some sort of agreement,” Chief Ritter said. “I think it would benefit the community in a lot of ways. But first and foremost I think public safety, the safety of our tourists and our residents is our primary concern. If you take a look at what happened in L.A., Lahaina, there’s a misconception that that can’t happen here. It’s nerve racking, it’s something I lose sleep over, it’s only a matter of time. It’s not if, it’s when. I think we need to be more proactive.”

Every Independence Day, thousands of people descend upon Ocean Shores and flock to the beach for an enormous amateur fireworks display. With the city dependent on the revenue tourism brings, and the Fourth of July weekend as one of the top annual drivers, there is a fine line between mitigating fire risk and the financial health of Ocean Shores. Chief Ritter said he and his department are well aware of the risk and the city’s reliance on the holiday.

“We’re going to start planning for the Fourth of July next month. We try to bring in extra resources. It is chaotic out there. A lot of times alcohol is involved,” Chief Ritter said. “It does take a lot of time and resources for the city to host that event. In a perfect world, I would like to see a professional show, maybe invite more families out to the beach in a more controlled environment. Everybody knows it’s a huge revenue stream for the city and the local businesses and that’s really the rub. I’ve had severe injuries out there. I’ve had lots of emergencies out on the beach, sometimes it’s difficult to locate people in the smoke. Again, it’s a huge revenue stream for the local business owners. We’re a tourist town, we just try to pool our resources and do the best we can with what we have.”

The city of Ocean Shores does impose strict distancing rules when it comes to Fourth of July revelers and the dunes in order to prevent fires during the festivities. Fire watches and robust communications systems are employed as well.

As diligent as the Ocean Shores Fire Department is and tries to be to mitigate fire risk and respond in the event of an emergency, a firebreak all along the oceanside of the peninsula would go a long way in protecting homes and businesses from a catastrophe.