Low snowpack raises Washington wildfire risk concerns

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Early signs of drying season in Washington are raising concerns about wildfire risk, as state officials begin preparing for what could be another challenging summer.

Low snowpack and drought concerns

What they're saying:

Dave Upthegrove, Washington’s public lands commissioner, says the state’s snowpack is significantly below normal, in the lower 20% of what’s typically seen, which can serve as an early warning sign.

"When we see low snowpack, that can be an indication of potential drought conditions," Upthegrove said. "When we see drought conditions, that’s increasing the risk of fires starting and it means they can spread much faster."

He emphasized that snowpack alone doesn’t directly cause fires, but is a contributing factor.

Fire season preparation ramps up

State officials are already working with scientists to calculate drought risk and are ramping up preparations for fire season.

That includes hiring seasonal firefighters and hand crews, purchasing equipment and staging it across Washington’s wildlands, and directing funding to rural communities that are often first to respond to fires.

"All of the good work that keeps fires small and prevent them we’re now going to be able to move forward with," Upthegrove said.

Funding restored after earlier cuts

"Right at the time I started as the new states land commissioner, the legislature cut our wildfire prevention and preparedness funding in half down from $120 million down to $60 million," said Upthegrove. 

But after pushing lawmakers, he says those funds have now been restored.

"We had a big win," shared Upthegrove. "The legislature just finished their work this year and they fully restored all $60 million."

He says that money can now be continued to be used for prevention efforts such as thinning underbrush and deploying new technology, including AI-powered cameras designed to detect smoke early.

Rising costs and increasing fire activity

Upthegrove warned that both the frequency of fires and the cost of responding to them are increasing.

Last summer, Washington saw a surge in fire activity west of the Cascades.

"We had more fires start in western Washington last summer than any summer previously," Upthegrove said. "We saw the biggest fire in western Washington in a generation last summer with the Bear Gulch Fire out on the Olympic Peninsula."

Despite what he described as a "modest fire season," the state still spent heavily on suppression efforts.

"I think when the dust settles we will have spent about $300 million putting out fires last summer," said Upthegrove.

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