OLYMPIA — Citing the devastation and expense of fighting Washington’s wildland blazes, state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz on Thursday proposed a “groundbreaking strategic plan” to prevent and respond to wildfires.
The plan by Franz, who oversees the state Department of Natural Resources, is part of her $55 million budget request to lawmakers that would boost the state’s wildfire capabilities.
Despite record-breaking wildfires, lawmakers in recent years have not agreed to fully fund DNR requests to boost response capabilities. Legislators in recent years have been instead have devoted big sums of money expensive court-ordered mandates, such as funding the costs of basic K-12 education and fixing Washington’s mental health system.
In a news conference Thursday, Franz described the 10-year plan as an “all lands, all hands” approach to fire prevention and response. The plan, she said, represents input from nearly 1,000 Washingtonians, including from local fire districts across the state.
Franz cited the effects of climate change and new development around forested areas as reasons for lawmakers to get behind her proposal.
“We must act like our safety, our economy and our lives depend on it,” Franz said. “Because they do.”
She warned that a continued federal government shutdown could hamper firefighting efforts. Some wildfire training programs already have been canceled due to the shutdown.
“As our wildfire seasons grow longer, every single day counts in our ability to prepare for fire season,” Franz said, adding: “This situation is quite literally a matter of life and death.”
Franz’s 10-year plan would add 30 full-time and 40 seasonal wildland firefighters to the agency, according to a summary of the proposal. It would fund the addition of two helicopters to the state’s aerial firefighting resources, including the assembly of one from parts the state already has on hand, a practice DNR has used in the past.
The proposal would create a wildland fire-training academy for different agencies to use. It would also explore the creation of “Rangeland Fire Protection Associations” to help cover certain patches of lands. That is necessary, Franz said, because there are areas that “have absolutely no protection for those homeowners and landowners.”
Among other things, it would speed up the time frame of DNR’s forest-health plan, allow for more controlled burns and boost assistance for landowners. It would also expand both current wildfire-prevention programs and DNR’s ability to engage with communities that have limited capabilities to speak English.
State Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee attended the news conference and said lawmakers should make the new plan a priority.
