GLENDALE FOREST PARK, unincorporated King County — Four years ago, this 5-acre forest south of South Park was littered with trash. A tangle of blackberry bushes extending into the sky prevented anyone from entering the area with a stream and ravine.
Today, the forest has two gently curving walking paths covered with gravel, built by volunteers with the Washington Trails Association. The shade from the trees provides some relief from summer heat in a neighborhood that has little green space. The closest park is a 50-minute walk away through an industrial zone — or even farther, across Highway 509.
While the park doesn’t offer parking, King County is planning more trail work, benches and bike racks.
Most of all, this place is now an essential cooling resource. The neighborhood is one of the county’s urban heat islands, feeling the effects of heat more than other areas of the county. The Glendale Forest is an example of the types of urban places becoming more important as climate warming continues. The park falls into King County’s broader strategy to combat heat-related illness and death, according to an extreme heat response plan released by county officials last month.
Glendale Forest
Data shows the impacts of heat are not uniformly felt across the county. Differences in land use and vegetation can make as much as a 20-degree difference, but a new King County park is trying to provide a space for residents to cool off.
The park’s neighborhood is in the lowest one-third for median income and is located near several religious centers, schools and apartment buildings without yards.
King County’s extreme heat plan is intended to help nonprofits and municipalities with strategies to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths and provides 20 “actions,” said Lara Whitely Binder, manager of King County’s climate preparedness program.
Evening temperatures
Volunteers collected temperature data across King County on a hot evening (7-8 p.m.) in July 2020. Some areas were more than 20 degrees hotter than others. Tree cover reduces heat, while roads, pavement and rooftops intensify heat.
King County officials first announced plans for the strategy in 2022 after the record-setting 2021 heat wave when Seattle reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers from the University of Washington estimated 441 more people died during that period than would have been expected based on previous years. Seattle and King County’s 911 system was also inundated with more calls than it has ever seen in its 53-year history.
Summers around the Puget Sound lowlands have become warmer by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1895, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and analysis in King County’s heat plan. Summer nights in King County, when people typically recover from hot days, have also warmed. These changes are due to a combination of global climate change and natural, long-term climate variations in the Pacific Ocean.
The actions in King County’s heat plan fall into six categories that prioritize keeping people cool and safe outdoors and indoors, cooling neighborhoods with tree canopies, increasing heat awareness, supporting community-led efforts and updating building codes for parks, buildings and schools.
The plan prioritizes action that goes beyond the typical response from the past, like cooling centers, which do not always draw people out of their homes.
“We heard time and time again, that people really do prefer to stay in their residences during extreme heat events,” said Daaniya Iyaz, an extreme heat mitigation strategy specialist with King County.
Some specific actions include expanding access to energy efficiency and utility bill assistance, installing heat pumps (which provide heating and cooling), distributing “cool kits” for people without homes who are living outside and expanding cooling centers in already trusted community locations.
At the news conference celebrating the heat plan at the Glendale Forest last month, UW professor and emergency room doctor Jeremy Hess said he witnessed the emergency room at Harborview Medical Center being stretched to its limit during the 2021 heat dome.
“Because of this plan, we’re in a much better position,” he said, adding that the plan will decrease “demand for health care during extreme heat,” which is more likely to occur each year because of climate change.
Stephanie Ung, co-executive director of Khmer Community of Seattle King County, said during the event that her organization was excited to help develop the plan and represent the elders, children and families in the Khmer community.
“I have a lot of gratitude for the shade of these alder trees and the light breeze,” she said.
One action in the heat strategy includes preventing drowning, and Ung said her organization has recently launched a water-safety course for children since many people in the community do not know how to swim. The Glendale Forest is also a block away from a Khmer community center and temple.
The Glendale Forest falls into King County’s recommendation to increase accessible open space with tree canopy, Whitely Binder said. The land for the park was acquired for $357,000 in 2020.
While the park has not formally opened and does not have any signage, local residents and schoolchildren have been curious and excited about it, already making use of the trails, said King County Parks Director Warren Jimenez. Local youth even participated in a trail workday, said Jaime Loucky, CEO of the Washington Trails Association.
Another action calls on King County to continue its work developing a “tree code tool kit” to help cities craft and revise their tree regulations. King County is analyzing existing codes across the county and developing best practices for tree regulations, Iyaz said. After years of discussion and draft proposals, Seattle revised its tree code last year.
