State lawmakers who are key in support of funding for the Department of Natural Resources’ wildfire fighting crews joined state Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz on Tuesday in learning how to deploy wildfire shelters.
Reps. Beth Doglio, an Olympia Democrat, Drew MacEwen, a Mason County Republican, and state Sen. Christine Rolfs, a Bainbridge Island Democrat, participated in the demonstration near the capitol rotunda.
Knowing how to deploy the shelters allows those who are successful at it to safely travel to state fire lines, including members of the media.
Fire shelter deployment, while rare, happens in the event that a wildfire threatens firefighters and others on the ground.
Chuck Turley, wildfire division manager at DNR, said the shelters used Tuesday were training models for the real thing, which is thicker and reflective silver.