OLYMPIA, WA – Washington’s public lands commissioner is asking the Legislature for roughly $100 million more to prevent and fight wildfires.
Dave Upthegrove wants a $60 million boost for wildfire prevention funding that was shortchanged in the last legislative session. Plus, he is seeking $44.8 million more for wildfire fighting for the 2026 fiscal year, which runs through next June.
In a letter to Office of Financial Management Director K.D. Chapman-See, making the request, Upthegrove acknowledged the “difficult choices” budget-writers will face in 2026.
State revenue is falling short of expectations despite significant tax increases this year, and many state agencies are absorbing cuts lawmakers made to balance the current budget.
“With this reality in mind, our budget proposals are carefully crafted, targeted, and respectful of the fiscal challenges before the governor and Legislature,” Upthegrove wrote.
In 2021, state lawmakers approved House Bill 1168, which committed $500 million over eight years to the state Department of Natural Resources for wildfire preparedness and response.
State spending largely kept up with that target until this year. The department received $115 million in the last two-year budget and $130 million in the one before that. But in the current budget, lawmakers provided just $60 million.
The Department of Natural Resources was prepared for this year’s fire season and has money in the account left over from past years for some additional fire prevention work, which can include activities like tree thinning and prescribed burns.
But the department says that reduced funding limits the amount of work it can do to prepare for upcoming fire seasons.
“Without these funds, Washington could see an increased number of fires that are going to be larger and cost the taxpayers more money,” Upthegrove said in his budget request.
Agencies filed requests this month with the Office of Financial Management for the 2026 supplemental budget lawmakers will write next year. Gov. Bob Ferguson will release his spending plan in December, which will serve as a starting point for discussions.
The supplemental budget will make adjustments to the two-year plan approved this year.
Wildfires are continuing to increase in severity and frequency in Washington, with forecasts showing that Natural Resources will need a minimum of $44.8 million more than the Legislature allotted for fire suppression in 2026.
The request is based on a forecasting model that analyzes the last 10 years of firefighting costs.
But with wildland fire season now lasting longer than it has in the last 10 years and stretching well into the fall, the department plans to recalculate its cost projections in January to account for money spent battling late-season wildfires.
The current budget approved by the Legislature this year allocates $79.5 million from the general fund for wildfire suppression in 2026, down from over $100 million each year between 2022 and 2025.
So far this year, wildfire suppression has cost the state about $93 million, not counting funds that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to reimburse for the Burdoin fire in the Columbia River Gorge.
This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.
