Chilly winter weather hasn’t kept Skagit County Fire District 13 officials from bracing for the summer wildfire season.

District leaders at their Feb. 17 morning meeting addressed the need to coordinate with new Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Brooks on future wildfire protection and evacuation training measures ahead of what could be a hot, dry summer here.

“I’m looking forward to getting together with the new EM (Emergency Management) Coordinator at the tribe to talk about evacuation (training),” Captain Ted Taylor told district commissioners during their 30-minute session at the Snee-Oosh Road station.

Taylor and District 13 Fire Chief Wood Weiss said they anticipate a challenging summer wildfire season as El Nino conditions emerge throughout the Pacific Northwest. El Nino is a climate pattern characterized by the unusual warming of ocean surface waters in the Pacific Ocean.

Taylor said that wildfire evacuation training for the Swinomish Reservation, which is within the 74-square mile District 13 coverage area, would likely involve tabletop exercises or deployment of personnel as traffic aides.

“It’s very much in the planning stage,” he said.

That’s where Brooks comes in. His input will be a key component going forward, Weiss and Taylor said.

“He’s a super sharp guy and I’m looking forward to working with him,” Weiss said of Brooks, a U.S. Navy veteran who previously served as Island County’s Emergency Management Director.

Brooks, who holds a master’s degree in Disaster Infrastructure Planning & Management from the University of Washington, was responsible for all aspects of Island County emergency planning as well as coordinating the county’s Disaster Response Center during active emergencies.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.