WASHINGTON – With the Pacific Northwest heading into what is predicted to be a severe wildfire season, Sen. Maria Cantwell asked for answers about preparedness efforts.
According to a release from Cantwell’s office, during a Tuesday hearing she asked a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources about how new technologies can be implemented to better help firefighters.
“There is a lot to be done to get ready for this fire season,” Cantwell said. “For the state of Washington, and I would say the whole Pacific Northwest, we are in the bullseye of what is likely to be a very challenging fire season.”
Cantwell drew comparisons to the 2015 fire season during which, 1,500 wildfires in Washington state burned more than 1 million acres, costing more than $250 million. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources called it the “worst-ever” fire season.
During the hearing on Tuesday, June 9, Cantwell asked about new technologies that could be used to assist firefighting efforts this year. Specifically, she asked about satellite technology from the National Weather Service that can detect fires ant an early stage.
Washington State Forester George Geissler supported the project, pointing out its successful use with the Oklahoma Forest Service.
U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief of State and Private Forestry John Phipps also highlighted a news system that should be available in time for the upcoming wildfire season.
“There’s something that we’re developing that should be available in the next couple of weeks — it’s called Safe Fire — to try to get a better idea on the conditions, how much potential an individual fire would have so we can better triage putting resources, putting them in the right mix, at the right time, at the right place, to keep the fires that have the potential from getting large,” Phipps said.
Back in March, 2019, Cantwell’s Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act was signed into law. The bill will increase firefighter safety by requiring the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to provide the best available technology to fight fires, according to Cantwell’s office. It also include the use of GPS locators for wildfire crews, the use of Unarmed Aircraft Systems to scout out and map wildfires in real time and the assignment of smoke forecasters to every large fire.
