WildfiresThursday, November 12
Washington's fire commissioner asks lawmakers to fully fund wildfire prevention
The Daily Spokane team
Washington's wildfire season is officially over, and the state's public lands commissioner wants lawmakers to keep paying for the next one. Dave Upthegrove said Tuesday that more than 1,500 fires burned nearly 1 million acres statewide. The Spokane Complex Wildfires destroyed almost 650 homes and forced about 65,000 people to evacuate.
Washington's worst fire season burned, displaced and mobilized thousands
- 1,500+
- fires in Washington this year
- 65,000
- people evacuated in the Spokane Complex Wildfires
- Almost 650
- homes destroyed by the Spokane Complex Wildfires
- 8,500+
- people fought fires at one point, from 27 states and four nations
Upthegrove asked the 2027 Legislature to fully fund prevention and preparedness, even with a budget shortfall. Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach said more than 20 aircraft flew at once during the initial attack on the Spokane Complex fires, and that they wouldn't have been possible before the investments under House Bill 1168. Mayor Lisa Brown said she supports the request.
Wildfire prevention funding slipped in 2024, then was restored
- 2021State commits $500 million over eight years to DNR for fire prevention
- 2024Legislature allocates about $60 million over two years, roughly half of what was needed
- 2026Legislature restores full funding ahead of the worst wildfire season on record
Source: Spokane Public Radio
- Legislature convenes: Jan. 11
- Upthegrove's request: $60 million a year for prevention
- DNR's August spending: more than $200 million on 20 fires
- Total suppression cost: still being tallied