There may be at least one advantage to the Legislature needing a special session (or two) to pass state budgets this year; it has put its decision regarding funds to prepare for and fight wildfires closer to the actual wildfire season and, perhaps, closer to the realization that lawmakers haven’t budgeted enough.
The devastation of the Carlton Complex wildfire last summer in north central Washington should still be fresh enough in mind. It burned more than 400 square miles and destroyed about 350 homes. And the final costs in fighting it have only recently been totaled. The state for the 2013-15 biennium budgeted $51 million, anticipating increased firefighting needs. But that $51 million didn’t come close to meeting needs, and the Legislature had to pass a supplemental budget that added $79 million, largely to pay for the costs of fighting the Carlton Complex. Leaving aside the damages to private and state property, wildfires during the current two-year budget cycle, including the Carlton Complex, will have cost the state $128 million to fight, reported InvestigateWest, an investigative journalism center, in a story published in Sunday’s Herald.
Budgeting for expected firefighting costs for the next two years comes down to a guess informed by experience, snowpack measurements and weather predictions. The snowpack throughout Washington in 2014, prior to the Carlton Complex fire, measured 70 percent to 90 percent of normal. A warmer-than-usual winter this year has left much of the state with a snowpack that is less than 20 percent of normal. More than 70 wildfires already have been reported this year, and while the threat of wildfire is typically high in Eastern Washington, it is also expected to be high in Western Washington, too.
It’s not as if the state won’t eventually pay the bills for fighting wildfires; supplemental budgets make up the difference between an educated guess and reality.
But the Legislature could still make a significant investment in heading off greater property losses and costs in fighting fires by increasing its budget for wildfire prevention. Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark told InvestigateWest that he’s trying to save the state money by seeking $20 million for preventive measures, including work to continue thinning of state lands and reduction of the buildup of brush and small trees with proscribed burns as well as increased funding for the FireWise program. FireWise, funded by the Department of Natural Resouces and administered by the Washington State Conservation Commission, works with private property owners and communities using cost-share incentives to clear vegetation near homes and other structures and thin trees and reduce fuels on private forestland.
But the House and Senate budgets released before the current special session provide far less for that work. The House offers a little more than half of Goldmark’s request. The Senate offers no increase in funding for prevention.
Yes, the attention of lawmakers is on satisfying its duty to fully fund education, but there remains an expectation that legislators consider the likely costs if other programs are not funded with foresight.
It could be a long, hot and costly summer.
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