Despite the rainy, cloudy weather, Washington is in the middle of wildfire season. This year, projections show Washington and Oregon have the worst wildfire risks in the nation.
We have already had more than 300 wildfires in our state. The state is dealing with a $9 billion budget shortfall because of COVID-19, but the Department of Natural Resources says it is prepared to take on a regular fire season.
But if it's a more severe wildfire season, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz says wildfire-fighting costs could surpass the fire suppression budget, forcing the state to tap into its emergency rainy day fund.
Franz says that money should be allocated elsewhere and we should all do our part to make that happen.
“Ideally, our goal is to keep our fires small to make sure they don’t happen in the first place," she says.