205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
On July 19, 2014 there were 4 guests who arrived from Sanda City, Japan for a camping/hiking experience in Kittitas County.
Junichi Matsuo, Katoro Irie and his two young sons Yuki and Takuto Irie were led by Mike Van Epps and his family where they spent two nights tent camping in the Salmon La Sac area. The group experienced some beautiful hikes with Rich Smith and Josephine Camarillo in the mountain area. The group also learned how to fly fish and tie flies with Kevin Kjorsvik, pan for gold, play outdoor games and experience singing campfire songs with David Lundy.
During their visit Junichi Matsuo from the Sanda City Fire Headquarters gave two presentations for local emergency agencies and members of the public on the importance of community disaster preparedness. He urged local government and emergency officials to work on forming neighborhood self-help groups and to undertake regular drills to protect themselves, rescue each other or assist each other to safe shelters in case of a disaster. Mr. Matsuo was also able to go along with local emergency officials to see recent wildfire damage in Kittitas County. He toured the local Fire Department, ate dinner with fellow firefighters and visited KITTCOM and the Department of Natural Resources.
The group stayed the week with local host families Kevin & Julie Kjorsvik; Mike & Dora Van Epps; Kevin & Josephine Camarillo. They also experienced a tour of Central Washington University, the Kittitas County Farmers Market, Ellensburg High School (and even played some basketball), watched a baseball game of local high school students and attended Ellensburg's famous Jazz In the Valley event.
The group left Ellensburg on the morning of July 26, 2014 to return to Sanda City, Japan. Although the week was very busy, it was a great adventure and a lot of fun for all involved.
Sanda City Fire Stations Brochure 1 Sanda City Fire Stations Brochure 2 East Japan Great Earthquake PowerPoint
