Washingtonians must prepare for the impacts of wildfire and smoke. These bills could help

BELLINGHAM — Summer in Washington used to mean clear blue skies, but recently they are mostly remembered for the wildfire smoke. Two bills, in the house and senate, are going to focus on communities that suffer the most from wildfires.

The “Cascading Impacts of Wildfire” legislation was proposed by Commissioner of Public Lands Hillary Franz who leads the Department of Natural Resources. The bipartisan bills are sponsored by Reps. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, and Sens. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, and Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, according to the news release.

“For days, smoke choked our lungs, forced our kids inside, and threatened the health of at-risk populations. While we continue to make progress in reducing the threat of wildfire, we must also prioritize how we mitigate and prepare for the impacts of wildfire and smoke. We must take steps to reduce the impacts of wildfire to our homes and communities, on both sides of the state,” Franz said in the news release.

The bills ask for $12.8 million over the next two years with the goal to prepare communities and increase their resilience for the risks caused by wildfire smoke. The bills also target post-wildfire dangers such as landslides and debris flow.

DNR plans to use these bills to expand its Wildfire Ready Neighbors program to Western Washington. Pilot programs in Pierce, Thurston and Mason counties would become permanent, along with five additional counties in Western Washington.

“We have DNR doing some great work out there fighting fires, but I also think people need to better understand the risk of fires,” Shewmake told The Bellingham Herald. “Preparation for disaster before the disaster occurs is super, super important. So let’s do some of that at the statewide level.”

Health impacts caused by wildfire and smoke are also being addressed. A statewide smoke monitoring team and predictive services team would be established. DNR would also be able to use mobile monitoring equipment that would provide smoke exposure forecasts and conduct simulation modeling.

Smoke-ready resources would be provided to local communities with high smoke risk. These resources could be used in schools, community centers and childcare and health care facilities.