Peter Goldmark, who oversees the state’s Department of Natural Resources, is worried.
And the weather forecast isn’t calming his fears. Instead, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently reported what the commissioner of public lands has long suspected: it’s going to be a hot, dry summer. In the next couple of weeks, Goldmark said, Washington could have some of the hottest weather in the nation.
“For both Eastern and Western Washington, it’s dire,” said Goldmark, a former wildland firefighter. “I’m very concerned about the possibility of a very severe fire season.”
In May, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency allowing for all areas of the state to qualify for relief funds to offset hardships due to the drought. Washington has what’s considered a “snowpack drought.” There’s been a record-low amount of snowpack, leading Inslee to comment in May, “it’s really unlike anything we’ve experienced.”
Goldmark is using the new information to increase pressure on lawmakers to boost his budget. Lawmakers have entered a second special session to try and hammer out a deal on a two-year operating budget.
Goldmark is requesting $4.5 million from the Legislature this session to help with firefighting efforts and another $6.6 million to help with mapping efforts to prevent the human and environmental costs of natural disasters such as mudslides.
But, he said, his message isn’t reaching the GOP-controlled Senate, which hasn’t added a dime to his budget. The House’s latest proposal is about half of what Goldmark requested.
Putting money into suppression efforts could save the state millions, Goldmark said. And what he’s requesting is a tiny sliver of the state’s $38 billion budget.
The first measure Inslee signed this regular legislative session was a supplemental budget to help pay an $88 million tab from fighting last summer’s wildfires. Investing early upfront could reduce a hefty bill later, Goldmark said.
There is a lot of pressure on the budget writers this year. The state Legislature is under a court order to adequately fund public education and has gone into two special legislative session because lawmakers can’t agree on a two-year operating budget. On Thursday, budget leaders were locked behind closed doors in budget negotiations and could not be reached for comment. Key negotiators said the two parties are making progress toward striking an agreement.
Goldmark is urgently trying to convince lawmakers that his budget request is an issue of public safety.
Last year was considered the state’s worst fire season on record. That’s when the Carlton Complex wildfire, the biggest in state history, burned more than 250,000 acres.
And no part of the state is immune. In Clark County, the Department of Natural Resources manages the 90,000-acre Yacolt Burn State Forest. A century ago, it was part of more than 240,000 acres that burned. The Yacolt Burn was the state’s largest recorded wildfire until last summer’s Carlton Complex fire.
