Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue

Effective 10/1/2026, the Clallam County Fire Marshal will be lifting the burn restrictions. This will allow recreational fires, residential fires, and commercial land clearing fires outside the Urban Growth Area. If you live within the Urban Growth Area around Port Angeles, you are not allowed to burn any residential yard waste or commercial land clearing fires.

Please see the Urban Growth Area map surround Port Angeles.

Thank you

Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue has Proposition #1 on the November 3, 2026 ballot for the establishment of an EMS Levy to fund operations. While the fire district understands that there is never a good time to ask for additional funding from the citizens, this EMS Levy is critical to sustain our current emergency medical response capabilities and will allow the fire district to increase service levels to meet the rising demand.

One concern that we often see is about how the fire district finances are handled. The Fire Commissioners and staff take great pride in managing our budget in a fiscally responsible way. The Washington State Auditor’s Office conducts accountability audits every 2-3 years. Since 2018 our Audit results have found that;

“… District operations complied, in all material respects, with applicable state laws, regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public resources.”

While it doesn’t sound very flashy, what that phrase means is that the Auditor’s Office found no issues with how the fire district finances are handled and establishes that the Commissioners and staff take great care in ensuring we handle your taxes in a responsible and safe way, reflecting our commitment to the trust you have placed in us.

One benefit to being a fire district is that there is only one purpose for our existence; to respond to the emergency needs of our community. All revenue generated from our current Fire Levy and the proposed EMS Levy go directly to the fire district to support our operations. This includes structure fire protection, wildland fire protection, emergency medical services at the EMT and paramedic level, fire prevention and public education, and technical rescue.

The fire district does not receive any funding from Clallam County, Washington State, or the Federal Government other than occational grant opportunities.

The fire district strives to be as transparent as possible and if you would like to review our annual budgets, they can be found on our website;
https://www.clallamfire2.org/district-transparency

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the fire district budget or finances, please contact Fire Chief Jake Patterson 360-457-2550 or [email protected] and he would be happy to discuss our finances and hear your concerns.

Thank you!

UPDATE
PRESS RELEASE FROM CLALLAM COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL

George Bailey, Clallam County Fire Marshal, is announcing that a county-wide burn ban has been modified to permit small recreational campfires in established fire rings, and the use of charcoal grills on private property and in campgrounds.

The National Forest and National Parks regulate their land independently from our jurisdiction so check with them for their requirements.

Campfires are limited to 3’ diameter and 2’ in height, no bonfires or any other open burning of any kind is allowed until primary Burn Ban is lifted.

This decision was made based on current rainfall/humidity conditions that have slightly eased the fire danger in Western Washington.

Today, the DNR reduced the fire risk level for the central lowlands from high to moderate That is the threshold I follow for allowance of recreation campfires and use of charcoal grills. The burn restrictions will remain in effect until October 1, 2026.

The Clallam County Fire Marshal’s office works closely with local fire districts and local fire departments, and strongly urges all county residents and property owners to be attentive to the condition of their properties through proactive fire prevention measures

Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue was honored to be a part of the Port Angeles area September 11th remembrance ceremony today at the 9/11 Memorial at Francis Street Park. Thank you to all who showed up to honor those impacted on that fateful day, and those who still fight and struggle with the lasting health issues related to the rescue efforts.

A big thank you to Alan Barnard for organizing this event for the last 25 years. He definitely deserved the group hug.

To all who took a moment to reflect on those events 25 years ago, thank you and we will never forget.

As always, Jay Cline, thank you for capturing these moments.

Some changes are coming to your fire district soon!!

Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue operates out of 4 fire stations. Two are primary stations, one in Gales Addition and one in Dry Creek, and two are satellite stations, one up Black Diamond and one up Deer Park. None of the fire district’s fire stations were built with living quarters as the fire district was all volunteer from the 1940s to 2012. The two primary fire stations in Gales Addition and Dry Creek were first constructed in the 1960s and as such are 60+ years old.

In 2012, after the first full-time firefighters were hired, it was determined that 24-hour staffing was going to be needed to meet the increasing demands. While the fire district continues to explore long-term fire station replacement options, we have to make due the best we can with what we have. So, in 2016 a modular home was placed next to Fire Station 21 in Gales Addition to house a crew 24/7.

As we continue to see increasing call volumes and a rise in overlapping incidents, the fire district needs to ensure a second unit is staffed 24/7, along with maintaining a dedicated core of volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics.

Increased daily staffing is one of the goals of the upcoming EMS Levy on November 3rd.

In order to make sure we have enough space for crews to staff a second unit 24/7, the Board of Fire Commissioners and staff determined that the best option would be to install a modular home next to the Dry Creek Fire Station 22. This will now allow the fire district to have two staffed units 24/7, one on each side of our fire district.

Today was a big step forward as the home was delivered and we hope to have crews staffing that station in the near future to better serve not only the west side of the fire district, but also our entire response area.

If passed in November, the EMS Levy would ensure that enough full-time firefighters are on-duty every day to staff these two response units.

The Board of Fire Commissioners and staff will continue to work on the long-term strategic plan to replace our obsolete fire stations, but adding a modular home to Fire Station 22 in Dry Creek will provide a stop-gap measure in the short term. Thank you to Wilder Homes and 101 General Contracting for working with us on this project for the community

We are moving forward to ensure we are there when you need us!

This summer several members from your local emergency service organizations completed Rope Rescue Technician training.

Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue hosted two 3-Day training sessions where several emergency responders obtained their certification as a Rope Rescue Technician. The final day was Sunday, August 16th. The courses were taught by Capt. John Hall and met the requirements of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1006 Standard for Technical Rescue Personnel Professional Qualifications.

Emergency responders from Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue, Clallam County Fire District #4, Clallam County Fire District #3, and Clallam County Search and Rescue (SAR) completed this complex course.

As you can tell from the pictures, it is not for the faint of heart. Crews practice rigging rope systems, patient packaging, rappelling, lowering, and high-line crossings. The training was conducted at several locations around the Port Angeles area.

Congratulations to all the new Rope Rescue Technicians from your local fire districts and SAR.

A big thank you to Jay Cline for the pictures and capturing this training which allows us to share how hard your crews train for whatever emergency they may face.

EMS Levy Update

As the final votes are being counted from the August 4th, 2026 Primary ballot, all indications are that the EMS Levy did not pass. While the measure did receive a 54.13% yes vote, in order for it to pass the EMS Levy needed a super majority of 60%.

The Board of Fire Commissioners and staff continue to focus on long term viability of the service levels currently provided by the fire district and what will be needed of the fire district as service demands continue to grow. The EMS Levy would have provided vital funding to ensure the continued current EMS service levels and provide for future growth that we anticipate over the next several years. Because the EMS Levy is a much-needed critical component of our long-term financial stability, the Board of Fire Commissioners has passed Resolution 2026-03 to place the EMS Levy on the November 3rd, 2026 General Election ballot.

With the failure of the EMS Levy in the Primary election, the fire district will not be able to:

• Hire additional full-time firefighters/EMTs/paramedics to increase staffing to meet the ever-increasing demand for emergency services. The plan was to hire six additional firefighters.

• Establish a dedicated EMS capital replacement fund for critical medical equipment such as cardiac monitors, gurneys, CPR devices, and ambulances.

• A program to end direct billing for fire district residents cannot be implemented. A goal of the EMS Levy was to implement a new billing policy so that fire district residents would not directly be billed for ambulance transports. If a patient has medical insurance, only the insurance would be billed and any patient responsibility for payment would be “written off” for fire district residents.

We do appreciate the support from the community and would be happy to provide any information and answer any questions you may have about the EMS Levy. If any neighborhood groups or community organizations would want a presentation, we would also be happy to provide that so we can inform the voters about who we are, what we do, and why the EMS Levy is important.

Please contact Fire Chief Jake Patterson, [email protected] (360) 457-2550 for more information or any questions.
Thank you

Effective Friday, August 7, 2026, a full burn ban is in effect. All outdoor burning including campfires, w**d abatement, and charcoal grills is prohibited.