Wildfire response center planned for the gorge
By Terry Murry on Thursday, December 9th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources will spend $1.6 million to purchase the former 3.6-acre Dallesport Elementary School property to create a new regional wildfire response center in the Columbia River Gorge.
Located in Klickitat County, the school building has been closed since 2016 due to decreasing enrollment across the Lyle School District. The purchase is funded with money appropriated by the Washington Legislature to fund House Bill 1168, the wildfire and resiliency legislation unanimously passed earlier this year.
“The community of Dallesport and its former elementary school are in a geographically advantageous location, uniquely positioned to help DNR achieve our goal of strategically placing firefighters across Washington state,” Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said. “This transaction will have a lasting, positive impact for the residents of Dallesport and the state for generations to come.”
The 19,000-square-foot main building, constructed in 1997, and 5,500-square-foot annex will be retrofitted to include crew quarters, a training facility, office space, shop, and equipment storage. Approximately 65 DNR employees will be stationed out of the response center in Dallesport, including 27 new employees anticipated to be hired in spring 2022.
