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State officials describe large-scale firefighting mobilization and record fuels-reduction funding
Summary
Maj. Gen. Jet Welsh and Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove described statewide response assets (National Guard aviation, 5,000 personnel) and said the state has invested record funding in forest-health treatments such as fuels reduction and prescribed burns to limit spread.
Maj. Gen. Jet Welsh, Washington's adjutant general, described the state emergency operations center and National Guard assets staged for the response, including helicopters and aviation assets to support structure protection. "The Washington National Guard still has resources available for tasking in the Spokane area," he said, urging local leaders to request assistance.
Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said this is an extraordinary season with 17 major fires and roughly 262,000 acres currently burning statewide, and that the state has positioned equipment and people while investing in fuels reduction and prescribed burns. "We have 5,000 people out there fighting these fires in this state right now," he said, noting that prior fuels-reduction work has in some places slowed the spread of fire.
