SEATTLE (AP) 鈥� Budget woes, combined with cuts to the federal wildfire-fighting workforce and President Donald Trump鈥檚 against Canada, have made it more difficult for state officials to plan for the upcoming wildfire season.
In Washington, a $12 billion budget shortfall prompted majority Democrats in the Legislature this week to propose slicing spending on wildfire prevention and fighting by one-third to two-thirds.
鈥淭hese massive cuts to wildfire prevention and response increase the threat to public safety 鈥� putting lives and homes at greater risk,鈥� state Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dave Upthegrove told The Associated Press in an email. 鈥淭he cuts make Washington more likely to experience the kind of horrific scene we saw recently in Southern California.鈥�
As Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency slashes federal spending, the Trump administration and then involved in firefighting from various agencies. Those included rangers in the Forest Service and weather forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Some were rehired under a court order, but .
Washington State Forester George Geissler, who has decades of wildland firefighting experience, said the officials who fired federal workers don鈥檛 understand the roles they play in fighting fires. Although they don鈥檛 have 鈥渇irefighter鈥� listed as their job title, they all undergo special wildland firefighting training that enables them to respond to a fire when needed, he said.
Meanwhile, tensions between the U.S. and Canada over Trump鈥檚 and calls to make the country the have also complicated wildfire planning, especially in border states, Geissler said. Washington state has maintained a solid relationship with British Columbia for decades, but it鈥檚 unclear how firefighting will work if the borders are closed due to federal tensions, he said.
鈥淚n wildfire, we like to say we can bring order to chaos," he said. "But the hard part has been that things are changing so quickly and doing such dramatic swings, it鈥檚 hard to anticipate and plan.鈥�
State and local budget woes have compounded those concerns.
Wildfire season in the West can run as early as April through November, while drier and have increased their intensity. These conditions have also sparked recent wildfires burning in the Carolinas, New Jersey, Florida and Texas.
Oregon and California lawmakers boost wildfire spending
Lawmakers in Oregon held a special session in December to approve . The 2024 wildfire season was the state鈥檚 most expensive on record, and the funds paid contractors who helped fight the blazes. Lawmakers have said finding new revenue sources for combating wildfires is a key issue in this year鈥檚 legislative session.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed spending $325 million on wildfire mitigation efforts next year. Many lawmakers have signaled their support for more investments in wildfire mitigation programs after the earlier this year.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the city council appealed to Sacramento this week for nearly $2 billion in disaster recovery aid at a time when City Hall is facing a nearly $1 billion projected deficit. The request included over $56 million for fire suppression and safety.
Washington state officials grapple with a budget shortfall
Washington state had made fighting wildfires a priority in recent years 鈥� passing a that permanently authorized spending $125 million each two-year budget cycle on response, forest restoration and communities. Those projects ensured that 95% of the state鈥檚 wildfires were held to 10 acres (4 hectares) or less, officials said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 some of the best money that we can spend,鈥� said Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham. Oregon and Washington had about the same number of fires last year, but while 2 million acres (810,000 hectares) burned in Oregon, only about 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) burned in Washington, she said.
When newly elected he told lawmakers that state agencies needed to reduce spending by at least $4 billion and asked each department, including Natural Resources, to find ways to reduce spending by 6%.
A budget proposal from Washington House Democrats this week came in $85 million short of the for the previous two two-year budget cycles, while the Senate鈥檚 was $40 million short of that target.
The Washington State Council of Firefighters said the budget proposals would make it less safe for their members.
鈥淎ny cuts to funding for wildfire suppression and forest resiliency is going to be detrimental to the response to wildfire incidents for both the DNR and all fire service firefighters across the state of Washington,鈥� Jeff Wainwright, a council spokesperson, told the AP.
The House and Senate proposals exceed Ferguson鈥檚 request, and instability at the federal level will magnify the shortages, said Michael Kelly, a DNR spokesperson.
鈥淥ur federal partners are behind on training and they鈥檙e behind on funding and they鈥檙e cutting staff,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淜nowing that we鈥檙e dealing with federal partners who can鈥檛 bring as much to the table this year, we hoped the Legislature would be able to give us the full amounts.鈥�
Deputy Majority Leader Larry Springer, who authored the 2021 bill that allocated $125 million for wildfires, said he understands the need for funding, but the state鈥檚 fiscal challenges forced lawmakers to focus the money on one part of firefighting 鈥� the initial attack 鈥� and try to refocus on things like forest thinning and prescribed burns that help prevent fires in the next few years.
鈥淕iven the fact that we don鈥檛 have enough money to do all of that now, it鈥檚 a matter of which ones are the most important right now in the short term,鈥� he said.
Washington Rep. Tom Dent, a Moses Lake Republican who has authored many wildfire-fighting bills over the years, said the state needs to ensure that it funds its initial attack and frontline firefighting programs.
鈥淚鈥檓 relatively fiscally conservative,鈥� Dent told the AP. 鈥淏ut you have to recognize there are times when you spend money to save money. This is one of those times.鈥�
___
Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Tr芒n Nguy峄卬 in Sacramento, California; and Michael Blood in Los Angeles contributed.
Martha Bellisle, The Associated Press
