Washington Senate legislation passed by the House will reduce the scope of wildfires by promoting the use of new technology to remove dead timber and other ground materials that help the fires spread.
The bill promotes the removal of common ground fuels by incinerating dead forest growth, commonly known as slash, through modern technology that is environmentally friendly and generates a useful by-product.
Modern slash incineration technologies like flame cap kilns release fewer emissions and generate biochar, a product that is profitable and useful to agriculture. Biochar is attractive to farmers for its high carbon content and water-retention properties; when mixed with fertilizer, biochar reduces the amount of water needed for irrigation.
Having already passed the Senate, the bill now goes to the governor to be signed into law.
