SPR s Steve Jackson reports.
Washington Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz has called for the legislature to support a bill that would provide a dedicated funding source for wildfire response and forest health work.
Franz says the bill would provide $125 million every biennium to fund new firefighters and aircraft and work to upgrade existing helicopters.
The funding would also speed up work on the state’s current forest health plan. It seeks to restore wildfire resistance to 1 1/4 million acres of forest.
Franz says it s not a cheap fix, but a bargain compared to what the state has paid to fight fires in recent years.