02.22.24

Central & Eastern WA Communities Awarded Over $21M to Make Landscape More Resistant to Wildfires

Intense wildfires & unhealthy air quality projected to worsen across WA in 2024; Announcement comes as the President approves disaster declaration for Spokane-area wildfires

SEATTLE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded communities in Central and Eastern Washington state $21.84 million to help mitigate the risk of wildfires exacerbated by climate change.

“This critical funding will help reduce wildfire risk in forests throughout Central and Eastern Washington,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Some of the highest risk areas in our state will benefit from preventative treatments that reduce fuels, improve forest health, and build community resilience. The growing wildfire crisis has devastated communities throughout our state in recent years, and 2.2 million homes in our state are at risk as more frequent and intense wildfires are expected to plague us into the future – we must be prepared.”

These funds, which are an expansion of the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy, come from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The USDA announced an investment of nearly $500 million for 21 high-priority areas throughout the West to reduce risk to communities, critical infrastructure, and natural resources. A map of those areas can be viewed HERE.

In Washington state, the USDA awarded $20.868 million to the Central Washington Initiative and $980,160 to northeast Washington forests including the Colville National Forest. The funds will be used to implement landscape-scale wildfire prevention techniques such as prescribed burns, hazardous fuel reduction, and other vegetation management. 

As wildfires become more frequent and intense in the West, Sen. Cantwell is working to ensure that communities have access to the resources necessary to prevent, prepare, fight, and recover from major fires. She helped secure billions of dollars to support wildfire response and recovery in the BIL, including $3.4 billion for wildfire risk reduction, $1.14 billion for Hazardous Fuels Reduction programs, and $500 million for Burned Area Rehabilitation Programs. In addition, she helped secure an additional $1.8 billion for the U.S. Forest Service Hazardous Fuels Reduction Program as part of the IRA.

In January, Sen. Cantwell co-introduced the Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now (MALDEN) Act, a bipartisan proposal to improve coordination between local, state, Tribal, and federal agencies to deliver resources faster in the aftermath of disastrous wildfires. The MALDEN Act is named for the town of Malden, WA, which was destroyed by the 2020 Babb Road Fire.

At an April 2023 Senate hearing, she called on U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore to hire more firefighters ahead of the 2023 wildfire season. In November 2022, Sen. Cantwell helped secure emergency funding to stabilize fire-scarred land around Highway 2 near Sultan caused by the Bolt Creek Fire. In May 2022, she introduced the Fire Ready Nation Act, which would improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s wildfire response and forecasting.