Rosario Property Owners Association Information Site

Disaster Preparedness

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Wildfire

In reviewing wildfire risk throughout the island, the San Juan County Department of Emergency Management focused in on our area as having particularly high risk. Rosario, high-risk by itself, borders other high-risk areas: Highlands/Vusario to the northeast, Moran State Park to the East, and Kahboo Hill/Mount Entrance to the south:

Although not likely an inclusive list, due to a combination of the fuel type, access issues, and the lack of defensible space, several housing clusters or developments were identified as having particularly high wildfire risk. These included Rosario, Vusario, Highlands, Marina Heights, Kahboo Hill, Mount Entrance, Rustic Homestead, and Buck Mountain. Additionally, the Land Bank property at Turtleback Mountain and Moran State Park have significant risk of fire ignition due to their recreational use.

For more information, see the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan/Wildfire Risk Assessment (2012).

Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake and Tsunami

Estimated risk of occurrence in next 50 years: 8-20%.

General Impacts to Western Washington:

(source: 2021 presentation by Jason Biermann, Snohomish County DEM)

Cascadia Subduction Zone Overview from National Weather Service
In recent decades, much tsunami and earthquake research has been focused on the coast of the Pacific Northwest, where more and more evidence points to large earthquakes and tsunamis in the past and the potential for more in the future. The source of these earthquakes and tsunamis is the Cascadia subduction zone…

Tsunami Escape – Washington’s Uphill Battle (video)
A documentary that explores how coastal communities along Washington’s outer coast are preparing for an eventual earthquake and tsunami emanating from the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault.

While Washington’s outer coast will see the most extreme impacts from a Cascadia tsunami, our island and community are also expected to see some impacts, including tsunami waves that will impact our waterfront areas.

While most of our wood-framed structures will not be critically damaged by the earthquake itself, the quake will break underground water lines, disable our power grid, and stop regular deliveries of supplies from off-island for weeks or even months due to transportation and utility infrastructure damage up and down the Interstate 5 corridor.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources monitors tsunami risk and periodically releases reports and maps to help Washingtonians plan. A detailed tsunami model for the Cascadia Subduction Zone 9.0 Quake Scenario was created for San Juan County in 2016, and the resulting maps show the model’s forecasted flooding and currents. For Orcas, some of the most impacted areas are Crescent Beach, the Eastsound waterfront, and the Rosario Resort waterfront/marina, where the tsunami wave is expected to be 10 feet or higher. The maps indicate that the Rosario marina, community pool, Cascade Bay Grill, Bow-Tie Lagoon, and fuel dock will likely be damaged or destroyed.

More information:

Other Earthquake and Tsunami Hazards

In addition to the hazard presented by the Cascadia Subduction Zone, there are less likely but more severe hazards presented by the nearby Skipjack Island fault zone and the Devils Mountain fault zone.

Severe Winter Weather

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Flooding

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Dam Failure

See our page on Cascade Lake Dam.. The linked “Emergency Action Plan” includes a detailed inundation area map.

What You Can Do

While we work to put a structured disaster preparedness program in place, here are some links to get you started:

Disaster Preparedness Committee Information

Contact info@rpoa.site for information about participating in this committee.