The Washington House and Senate have given unanimous approval to two bills aimed at reducing the severity of wildfires in the state.
The state House on Monday approved legislation aimed at reducing the wildfire risk on a million acres of federal, state and private lands. It directs the state Department of Natural Resources to assess and treat 200-thousand acres every two years, with a goal of making a million acres less susceptible to wildfire during the next 16 years.
Meanwhile, the same afternoon, the state Senate was giving its approval to a proposal that would prioritize forest thinning and prescribed burning projects on state timber trust lands. It would also create a revolving fund that would pay for those projects.
Stevens County Republican Senator Shelly Short says, together, the bills will lead to safer summers in rural communities.
“While we will have fire in the future, it will hopefully be not the catastrophic nature that we have here today”, she said.
The memory of the severe wildfire seasons of 2014 and 2015 has created a consensus around the idea of reducing fire risk, says Tom Bugert from the Nature Conservancy, which supports both bills.
“You’ve got bipartisan support for these bills, but you’re also seeing industry, you’re seeing local governments, you’re seeing tribes, fire departments, communities all leaning into this problem and that’s the only way you’re going to get this work done," Bugert said.
The bill approved Monday by the House now heads to the governor’s desk. The other, sponsored by Okanogan County Republican Representative Joel Kretz, heads to a committee to iron out slight differences in the two versions that passed. After that, it too will go to the governor.