SPR s Doug Nadvornick reports.
The Washington House on Tuesday unanimously approved a wildfire prevention and forest health bill and sent it to the Senate.
Among other things, the bill would create a fund that would receive $125 million each biennium. That would pay for programs that help to make communities and forested areas less susceptible to wildfires, says Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz. She says the state sometimes spends more than $150 million each year to suppress wildfires.
“Across the state, legislators east and west, Republicans and Democrats, believe this is exactly what we should be investing in and that we have got to do something to change the trajectory. We can’t continue to have the years we’ve had in 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016. The list goes on, she said.