At a roundtable with local firefighters and Kittitas and Yakima County officials in Washington, United States Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), drove home the need for — and her efforts to secure — additional federal wildfire disaster prevention and mitigation funding.
Kittitas County has experienced temperatures in excess of 100 degrees many times throughout this summer, increasing fire risks. Just earlier this month, Murray supported passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which included $5 billion in fire resilience grants, forest conservation, as well as drought and fire resilient agricultural practices.
“Across the state, we’ve seen everything from devastating wildfires to deadly heatwaves to months-long droughts. That’s why I am continuing to push for action,” Murray said. “The measures taken in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are big steps, but we need to do more to ensure our federal wildfire prevention and response efforts are able to meet this moment and account for the severity of fire seasons we’re now facing.”
Currently, Murray has also cosponsored two bills to reconfigure the federal government’s response to wildfires and increase resources to communities in the grip of natural disasters, with a particular focus on equity. She has also worked with fellow Western state lawmakers in a push to increase firefighter pay.
On another approach, Murray has also pushed to gain funding for the Yakima River Basin and Columbia River Basin projects, each of which would alter water management in the region and provide drought resiliency improvements.
“Climate change is happening. Forests are diseased, distressed, and mismanaged for decades,” John Sinclair, fire chief of Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue and Emergency Manager for the City of Ellensburg, said. “We need an integrated approach to this involving Federal, State and Local partners to mitigate the issues. We need good fire on the ground in the spring and the fall, to consume the fuel, small diameter sawmills, in central Washington, grazing and other fuels mitigation such as biomass, bio-char, and logging. If we do not, we will continue to wipe out communities and kill citizens.”
In addition to Sinclair, Murray’s roundtable was joined by Tony Miller, director of emergency management of Yakima County; Nicole Parpat, grant coordinator and grant writer for Yakima County; and Savannah Herrera Davies, a Kittitas County firefighter.