For much of the past decade, perennial wildfires have scorched the Washington landscape to an unprecedented degree. Both sides of the Cascades have known this horror, as homes and businesses have been destroyed while hundreds of thousands of acres burned most summers.
The state should use every viable means to fight this menace. The $125 million forest help bill passed unanimously by the 2021 Legislature was a strong step, but more needs to happen. As The Seattle Times’ Rebecca Moss detailed in a Jan. 2 story, the power lines that carry electricity along rural roads and through forests to far-flung communities pose a fire risk that needs state-level attention. The Legislature should give the Utilities and Transportation Commission meaningful authority to compel electricity providers to do better at fire prevention and response.
Too much damage has already been done to allow weak oversight. Over the past four years, more than 400 fires on state property were set off by electrical infrastructure, according to the Department of Natural Resources. The National Interagency Fire Center found that in 2020, no state besides California saw more acres burn in human-caused fires — which includes those from power lines — than Washington.
Yet Washington has lagged behind both California and Oregon in dealing with wildfire risk at the state level.
Both those states require utilities to register plans for shutting off electricity during a high-risk fire situation. Washington, which has three private power companies, has no such requirement. Both states hold power companies liable if their lines set off destructive fires due to inadequate maintenance or other failings. Washington has no similar legal framework. The UTC lacks enforcement power to hold power companies to safety standards, such as keeping brush and dead trees clear from high-voltage lines.
Under this poor oversight, utility providers carry out a hodgepodge of safety practices. Some of the state’s public utility providers have shut-off plans; many do not. Of the state’s three large private electricity providers, only PacifiCorp has a shut-off plan — possibly because it also operates in Oregon and California, which require it.
On wind-whipped Labor Day weekend 2020, 47 wildfires sparked by electric lines burned more than 147,000 acres in Washington, including 80 percent of the Whitman County town of Malden. The following year, the Legislature made a belated investment in fire prevention and suppression but let utility providers off the hook.
Across the state line, more than 1 million acres of Oregon burned that weekend. There, regulators installed powerful new requirements for utilities to have shut-off plans, risk reduction and fire reporting — effective before the 2021 fire season could bring more risk.
Take note, Washington Legislature and UTC, and step up the accountability.
