Following a devastating wildfire season where over 800,000 acres were burned in Washington State and communities like Malden and Pine City were mostly destroyed, a bill is making its way through the state legislature that looks to prevent these kinds of fires.
House Bill 1168, championed by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, looks to add resources to both wildfire prevention in forest restoration and wildfire response with more firefighting equipment and personnel.
The bipartisan bill was unanimously passed by the State Senate this week. "It doesn't matter political party, what side of the Cascades you are on, whether you're an urban person or a rural person," George Geissler, State Forester says, "Bottom line is these fires are having an impact."