Fire season preparation

As your commissioner of public lands, I recently had the pleasure of hosting a town hall in Spokane to discuss forest health and my agency’s preparations for wildfires. Wildfire season is here – we’ve had more than 500 fires already, the most ever this early in the year. And, just one week after my town hall, the Department of Natural Resources was fighting wildfires near Liberty Lake, TumTum and Tyler.

For Spokane and nearby communities, wildfire is an unfortunate, yet predictable, reality. However, that doesn’t mean you must be perpetually at risk.

I’m asking individuals and communities to take action and join the efforts of DNR and firefighting partners around the state to prepare for, and help reduce the risk of, wildfire. In the forested areas of Riverside State Park, Mount Spokane and elsewhere, we must work together to create fire-adapted communities and shaded fuel breaks. We must reduce human-caused fires by limiting sparks around dry grass and abiding by burn restrictions. And, long-term, we must improve the health of our forests.

Thank you Rep. Timm Ormsby and Fire Chief Jack Cates for welcoming this discussion in your community. We’ve only just begun our journey toward a safer and more resilient Spokane.

Hilary S. Franz, Washington state commissioner of public lands

Olympia