Jay Inslee: Washington needs a Wildfire Victims Fund

As of today, the overwhelming majority of Washington is experiencing drought, and our state is bracing for another devastating wildfire season.

Once rare and seasonal, wildfires are now a yearlong trauma. I’ve seen the devastation done to families and communities firsthand. Fires threaten lives, destroy homes and choke our skies with smoke.

Families who have spent their lives building homes and businesses now face the terrifying reality that, after the next fire, they could lose everything, with no way to rebuild. In much of Washington, homeowners can no longer find adequate wildfire insurance. Some can’t get it at all. Others have coverage that pays just a fraction of what they’ve lost.

Homeowners are paying for utilities’ skyrocketing insurance rates as well. Utilities know they are one spark away from potential bankruptcy. The rising cost of wildfire liability threatens their very solvency. Homeowners cannot depend on claims against utilities to make them whole.

That isn’t just a threat to rebuilding – it’s about whether families can get a mortgage, keep their homes, or recover from tragedy. A single fire can erase generations of effort. Vulnerable communities are the ones that are most impacted – those without large savings accounts or generational wealth to fall back on. And when there’s no backstop, no funds to help rebuild, families are left to pick through the ashes alone.

This is not a distant future. This will be a reality for victims impacted by wildfires this summer. We know that right now we cannot count on the federal government to come to our aid after a natural disaster, which is why we must act.

That’s why I’m calling for the creation of a Washington Wildfire Victims Fund – a safety net for families, protection for rural utilities, and a long-overdue response to our changing climate.

A Wildfire Victims Fund is a practical, multibenefit solution. It ensures economic justice for victims, increases prevention efforts and utility accountability, protects utilities against bankruptcy, and improves access to affordable wildfire insurance – all without pulling from the state general fund.

By creating a reinsurance-style backstop, we can provide financial protection for both wildfire survivors and the utilities they depend on. If a rural utility goes under, its customers don’t just face a blackout. They face soaring rates, stalled renewable energy projects and the collapse of a vital economic engine.

This fund will also be a powerful tool for climate resilience. As governor, I worked hard to pass the Climate Commitment Act because we must slash emissions across every sector. But wildfires undermine much of that progress. In a bad year, wildfires release more carbon dioxide pollution than the state’s entire electricity sector. That’s why prevention must be a part of our climate strategy – and why utilities that want to opt into the fund to gain bankruptcy protection will be held to tough, transparent mitigation and prevention standards to ensure they take necessary steps to harden and maintain their infrastructure.

It will also help stabilize the insurance market. By lowering risk exposure, it gives insurers confidence to keep offering coverage – and lenders confidence to keep issuing mortgages. That’s good for families, good for housing and good for the economic future of wildfire-prone areas.

Funding for the Wildfire Fund will come primarily from contributions from for-profit utilities that cannot be passed along to ratepayers. Participating utilities will also collect modest, usage-based surcharges from customers. Both groups benefit. Utilities gain protection from bankruptcy, and property owners gain peace of mind that help will be there when it’s needed most. And all Washingtonians will benefit from the strengthened oversight of utilities’ wildfire prevention efforts.

Importantly, the fund does not limit the rights of victims or shield utilities from accountability. If a utility acts with gross negligence, the state can recover funds through court action. This isn’t about letting anyone off the hook. It’s about making sure no one is left in the rubble.

California has already established a wildfire insurance fund. It’s working to deliver a financial backstop for property owners, provide stability for utilities, and ensure more oversight of prevention strategies. There’s no reason Washington can’t do the same – and every reason we should act before the next disaster strikes.

This isn’t just about policy – it’s about people. It’s about the orchard worker in the Methow Valley, the family on the Kitsap Peninsula, the retired couple in Tonasket, or the working mom in Medical Lake. They shouldn’t have to start over because of a fire they didn’t cause.

The Washington Wildfire Fund is a practical, climate-forward, justice-centered solution. Let’s build it now. Our communities are counting on us.

Jay Inslee served as the 23rd governor of Washington from 2013 to 2025. A lifelong champion of climate action and community resilience, he now works with Singleton Schreiber on forward-looking policy and advocacy.