SEATTLE (AP) – Budget issues coupled with the workforce fighting federal wildfires and reduced tariffs and sovereignty threats to President Donald Trump have made it even more difficult for state officials to plan for the upcoming wildfire season.
In Washington, a $12 billion budget shortfall has led to Congressional majority Democrats last week suggesting slice spending on combat in a third to two thirds.
“These massive reductions in wildfire prevention and responses raise the threat to public safety. They risk life and homes more,” Director of Natural Resources Dave Upttaigrove told The Associated Press in an email. “The cut makes Washington more likely to experience the horrifying scenes he’s seen in Southern California recently.”
As Elon Musk’s Office of Government Efficiency cuts federal spending significantly, the Trump administration withheld money to mitigate wildfires in several states and subsequently fired thousands of workers involved in firefighting from various agencies. These included Forest Service Rangers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service weather forecasts. Some were rehired under court orders, but many were then placed on administrative leave soon after.
Washington’s Forester George Geisler has decades of Wildland firefighting experience, but officials who fired federal workers said they didn’t understand the role they would play in the fire fight. They don’t list “fire fighters” for their position, but they all have special Wildland fire training that will allow them to respond to fires if necessary, he said.
Meanwhile, tensions between the US and Canada, particularly border states, have complicated wildfire plans, as well as calling for tariffs and calls to make the US 51st state into the country’s 51st state, Geisler said. Washington has maintained strong ties with British Columbia for decades, but it is unclear how firefighters will function if the border is closed due to federal tensions, he said.
“I want to say that in wildfires we can bring order to chaos,” he said. “But the hard thing was that things were changing so quickly and there were such dramatic fluctuations. It’s hard to predict and plan.”
State and local budget issues exacerbate these concerns.
The western wildfire season can run early from April to November, but the arid and hot conditions associated with climate change have increased the intensity. These conditions have also sparked recent wildfires burning in Carolina, New Jersey, Florida and Texas.
Oregon and California lawmakers boost wildfire spending
Oregon lawmakers held a special session in December to approve $218 million in emergency fire funds. The 2024 wildfire season was the state’s most expensive record, with funds being paid to contractors who helped fight the flames. Lawmakers say finding new revenue streams to combat wildfires is a key issue at this year’s legislative meeting.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes spending $325 million next year on wildfire mitigation efforts. Many lawmakers are signaling their support for more investment in the wildfire mitigation program after the fatal fire in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the city council last week called on Sacramento for nearly $2 billion in disaster recovery assistance at a time when city hall was facing a nearly $1 billion forecast shortage. The request included more than $56 million for fire extinguishing and safety.
Washington state officials are tackling budget shortages
Washington state has made combat wildfires a priority in recent years. In 2021, it passed a bill that permanently granted response, forest restoration and communities $125 million per two-year budget cycle. The projects ensured that 95% of the state’s wildfires were kept on less than 10 acres (4 hectares), officials said.
“It’s part of the best money we can spend,” said Sen. Sharon Shewmake of D-Bellingham. Oregon and Washington had roughly the same number of fires last year, but two million acres (810,000 hectares) were burned in Oregon, while only about 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) were burned in Washington.
When the newly elected Gov. Bob Ferguson took office, he told lawmakers that state agencies need to cut at least $4 billion, asking sectors, including natural resources, to find ways to cut spending by 6%.
Last week, a budget proposal from a Washington House Democrat reached $85 million, the $125 million allocated to the previous two-year budget cycle, but the Senate was short of that goal of $40 million.
The Washington State Firefighters Council said the budget proposal would reduce the safety of its members.
“Reducing funding for wildfire and forest resilience in response to wildfire incidents for both the DNR in Washington and all firefighters,” he said.
The House and Senate proposals exceed Ferguson’s demands, and instability at the federal level will widen the shortfall, said DNR spokesman Michael Kelly.
“Our federal partners are behind in training, they are behind in fundraising and they are cutting back on staff,” Kelly said. “We wanted Congress to be able to give us the full amount, knowing that we are dealing with federal partners that we can’t bring to the table again this year.”
Larry Springer, the deputy majority leader who wrote the 2021 bill that allocated $125 million to wildfires, said he understands the need for fundraising, but the state’s financial challenges will force lawmakers to focus their money on a portion of the firefighter, and will try to focus on what will become thinner – and thinner forests to prevent burns in the coming years.
“The question is whether it’s the most important thing right now given the fact that we don’t have enough money to do all of that right now,” he said.
Washington, a Lake Moses Republican who has written bills to combat many wildfires over the years, said the state needs to ensure funding the first attack and frontline fire program.
“I’m relatively financially conservative,” Dent told the Associated Press. “But you have to realize that sometimes you spend money to save money. This is one of those times.”
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Clearrash, an Associated Press reporter in Portland, Oregon. Trânnguyễn of Sacramento, California; Michael Brad of Los Angeles contributed.
