WA concerned federal government won’t help fight wildfires this year

State officials are sounding the alarm over a lack of federal resources and support in a year the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) predicts will be an “above-average” year for wildfires, especially across Eastern Washington.

“DNR is very concerned by the level of preparedness potential from our federal partners this year,” said Thomas Kyle-Milward, the communications manager for DNR. “The federal agencies that we partner with each and every fire season have jurisdiction over approximately 43% of public lands in Washington State.”

Kyle-Milward pointed to a federal funding freeze and federal worker layoffs earlier this year as posing major challenges for state and local firefighters during the 2025 fire season. He also warned that the federal government is months behind in hiring its own firefighting crews.

“They began their hiring process for federal seasonal firefighters about halfway through their traditional hiring window,” Kyle-Milward said. “It’s a fairly logical conclusion that there will be some negative impact. We just don’t know how it will be measured yet on the landscape this season.”

During last year’s fire season, close to 165,000 acres were burned by more than 1,880 fires across Washington, including two major blazes in Spokane County that killed two people.

2025’s upcoming fire season

This year, Spokane is facing a potentially hotter summer with temperatures exceeding the average by more than three degrees. That higher heat, a reduced snowpack, and ongoing dryness will pose a higher risk for a longer wildfire season.

Kyle-Milward explained that part of the federal government’s lack of preparedness stemmed directly from the Trump Administration.

“The decision-making from the administration appears to be rather haphazard and chaotic,” he said. “So, it’s been a learning process for DNR. I think the likely expectation will be that DNR and other state and local entities will have to sort of shoulder more of the burden in this situation.”

Kyle-Milward said that the potential burden also falls on residents’ shoulders to make sure they are doing their part to mitigate the risks of potential fires.

“Just an encouragement to Washingtonians out there to recreate responsibly and be cognizant of the fact that everybody in Washington State plays a part in fire suppression, mitigating risk, making sure you’re not a spark on the landscape,” Kyle-Milward said. “If we were just a little bit more responsible and a little bit more conscientious, we could do a great job of mitigating.”

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