The Washington Department of Natural Resources unveiled their 10-year strategic plan last week. 12th District Senator Brad Hawkins was there and says it’s important to be proactive and do things like thin forests as needed, prescribed burning and reducing risks.
“But we also need to make sure that we are using state resources well and being able to fight the fires through the fire suppression activities and that is what this 10-year wildfire strategic plan was aimed at.”
DNR filed a $55 million budget request from the state legislature who is in the process of setting the next two-year budget.
Hawkins says that request will resources like more full-time fire fighters, seasonal firefighters, air support and much more and while it might seem like a lot, the state is already paying hundreds of millions in recent years reimbursing costs.