Hilary Franz promotes wildfire prevention measures to Chelan Fire and Rescue

CHELAN – Former two-term Washington Commissioner of Public Lands and current Congressional candidate Hilary Franz brought her message of fire resilience to the Chelan Fire and Rescue Board of Commissioners at their regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, July 16.

Franz appeared at the invitation of Chelan Fire Chief Brandon Asher and Manson Fire Chief Arnold Baker to review the statewide fire suppression gains the state has made against wildfire.

Franz said that when she became Lands Commissioner in 2017 the goal was set to keep 90 percent of state fires under 10 acres.

“Without very many resources we immediately used initial attack,” said Franz. “As you know getting on fires quickly and keeping them small is everything.”

Franz referred to a comparison between the acreage burned last year in Washington and Oregon to illustrate the benefits the early aerial attack and wildfire mitigation investment produced. 

“Oregon had two million acres burned,” said Franz. “Washington lost about 300,000 acres.”

Legislation endorsed

Franz credits two bills, HB 1168, and HB 1498 with making the difference.

House Bill 1168 (passed 2021) provided “a significant $500 million investment in wildfire response, forest recreation, and community resilience over four bienniums,” Franz said.

This year that amount has been reduced by half and will continue to be poorly funded “unless a massive number of lives and homes are lost or we raise our voices,’ Franz said.

House Bill 1498 passed in 2023 provides aviation resources for local governments during the early stages of a wildfire.

“They do not have to wait five to 24 hours to get mobilization from aviation resources,” said Franz. “Fire chief after fire chief told me it is the big game changer.”

HB 1498 is scheduled to sunset next year.

Franz urged passage of bill 1498 again next year together with full funding of bill 1168 to stay ahead of the growing wildfire losses.

Fuel treatment works

Franz also endorsed strategic fuel treatment for landscapes around urban areas with the help of computer modeling to show when and where to provide preventative resources. She used the January 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles and a wildfire risk modeling program to make her point.

The Vibrant Planet model showed where the fire started and how it spread to illustrate that the proper application of $9 million of fuel reduction in critical areas could have avoided $40 billion in losses.

Franz recommends advances in computer modeling to help local fire districts apply the most effective real time use of resources to prevent wildfires.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media