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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Prepping for wildfire season

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee deploys a practice fire shelter during an exercise to emphasize preparations for Washington's fire season. (Jim Camden/Spokesman-Review)
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee deploys a practice fire shelter during an exercise to emphasize preparations for Washington's fire season. (Jim Camden/Spokesman-Review)

OLYMPIA -- With Washington facing another difficult fire season, Gov. Jay Inslee and Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark held their annual exercise that emphasizes fire preparedness and safety.

They walked a mile in under 16 minutes, and got into a practice fire shelter in under 30 seconds. It is, Department of Natural Resources Wildfire Division Manager Bob Johnson said, the least strenuous of all fire fighter tests. The most involves carrying a 45 pound pack for three miles in under 45 minutes.

But it gave Inslee and Goldmark a chance to highlight the prospects of another devastating fire season after 2014, which saw the largest wildfire in state history at the Carlton Complex fire in Central Washington. The state has already had more than 200 fires this year, Goldmark said and with warmer and drier weather in May and June, the prospects for fires on the West Side have increased.

"I'm concerned this is heralding in what could be another very destructive fire season," Goldmark said.

Inslee said the state is urging residents in forested areas to create "defensible space" around their homes and building, by removing branches, dead trees, dried grass and other combustible materials in the area.

"We have to understand, this is something that is going to be with us for decades," he said. "Washington's going to have to inure itself and become prepared for more forest fires." 

Increased money for fighting fires is being proposed for the coming two-year budget cycle, although the Legislature is into its second special session on overall budget talks. Those talks haven't come down to a point where a specific amount of money for firefighting can be determined, Inslee said. 

"I'm not totally confident of anything in the budget yet because it hasn't been done," Inslee said.



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

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