From aviation contracts to deals with vendors and even seasonal hiring, the partial federal government shutdown is cutting into planning and preparation for the 2019 wildfire season in the Northwest.
According to Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, one training for firefighting managers has already been canceled, because the federal government has been partially shuttered.
“We rely significantly on state funding for resources,” Franz said. “But we also rely on federal funding. Not only on funding to support our own firefighting efforts but also, we fight our fires in lockstep partnership with federal agencies.” That’s because almost one-third of the land in Washington is owned and managed by the federal government. In Oregon, it’s more than half.
Citing preparations for the upcoming wildfire season, three U.S. senators from the Northwest are among nearly a dozen who sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to “cease the ongoing government shutdown.”