It’s wildfire season again! This is something we may not like talking about, but it’s a part of life in Washington. The WA Department of Natural Resources says the current outlook is better than last year but it’s still preparing extensively just in case. Why are wildfires such a big issue, and what can we do about it?
Here are Five Fast Facts on WA’s wildfire situation:
- 🌲🌲That’s A Lot Of Forest! Washington has about 23 million acres of forest, 53% of which is restricted from harvesting or is part of national parks or conservation areas. The rest is used for economic or community value, including things like timber harvesting and logging. It’s for the Paychecks!
- 🔥🔥That’s A Lot Of Fires! In 2021 we had 44 fires bigger than 1,000 acres, with a total of almost 675k acres burned. Eighty-eight percent of the fires were human caused. Oops.
- ☀️🌩️🏙️That’s a Lot Of Causes! Depending on who you ask, there are a number of causes, including climate change, the 41%+ increase in people moving into wildland urban interface (WUI) areas, lightning, and general carelessness with things like cigarettes and campfires.
- 💰💰That’s A Lot Of Cost! All of this, unfortunately, comes back on us in the form of higher costs! In the last decade, Washington has spent almost $60 million (almost ⅔ of it received from FEMA) for hazard mitigation projects alone, all of which is funded by taxpayers. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the cost to insurance companies for rebuilding. (But maybe we don’t care as much about that.)
- 🤦Wait, What?! Brace yourself for even more costs - the Climate Commitment Act and other similar laws are driving up prices on gas (27%) and fees like license plates (400%) among others. Now that just sucks. 😒
🔥Bottom line: Forest management requires action. There are things that can be done on a personal level, like not being dumb with cigarettes. There are also things that can be done on a policy level. Some say we should follow the lead of how Native Americans have done it for hundreds of years - frequent controlled burning to clear old brush and other highly flammable stuff, harvest and replant timber, and work with everyone who lives there to achieve sustainable balance. This will help ease the burden on our Paychecks and make our state better at the same time.
What do you think needs to be done about forest management?
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