State Public Lands Commissioner wants COVID vaccination for firefighters

Firefighters and everyone else who works for the state Department of Natural Resources are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

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Now, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is asking the federal government — by calling on the federal Departments of Agriculture and the Interior — to also require shots for the wildland firefighting forces that are sent to hot spots across the country.

In a letter to Secretaries Deb Haaland and Tom Vilsack, Franz called for the deployment of federal resources to make vaccinations available at all fire camps on federal land. To help make vaccines more available for firefighters in Washington, DNR will also immediately take steps to have doses ready at fire camps, which will be open to all personnel from any jurisdiction, not just DNR firefighters.

Last week, a federal crew on its way to a fire was forced to turn back due to a COVID-19 outbreak. That team is now quarantining, but the outbreak resulted in the removal of engines and grounding of aircraft.

“Pulling resources from the fight, when we are already stretched thin, has made a bad situation worse,” Commissioner Franz said in a written statement. “We cannot afford to lose a single firefighter or tool in our arsenal given the unprecedented fire danger that is threatening Washington’s communities. Already, a record-breaking number of fires have burned almost half a million acres of Washington lands. And, with high temperatures and drought conditions expected to continue, there is no relief on the horizon.”

The letter from Franz follows a new requirement for all DNR personnel, including its wildland firefighters, to be fully vaccinated no later than Oct. 18.

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“Given the increased fire danger and deployment of federal firefighting forces across the Western United States, our mandate alone will not fully protect firefighters from the spread of COVID-19,” Franz writes. “We cannot combat the increasing threat of catastrophic wildfire, however, without first prioritizing the health and safety of the firefighters who are on the frontlines.”

According to the DNR, with more than 1,650 fires so far this year, Washington has already surpassed the total number of fires that occurred in 2020.

The KIRO Radio Newsdesk contributed to this report.

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