A bipartisan effort is underway to make permanent a program that allows rural fire districts in Washington to call in aircraft early during wildfires. An Eastern Washington lawmaker leading the effort on the newly filed House Bill 2104 says the policy has already proven its worth. Representative Tom Dent of Moses Lake says a temporary law allowing rural fire districts to request early aerial firefighting support is saving money and stopping fires before they explode into major incidents.
Dent says early aircraft response can prevent costly state mobilizations – which often run well over a million dollars – while a quick aerial hit might cost only a fraction of that. He says the policy has strong support from fire chiefs and rural districts across the state.
Dent says the goal this session is simple: remove the sunset and keep the program in place before it expires. The 2026 session begins January 12th in Olympia.
