H-1539.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1563
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By House Agriculture & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Representatives Bernbaum, Dent, Timmons, Orcutt, Nance, Reeves, Hackney, Tharinger, Ybarra, Springer, Reed, Fitzgibbon, Cortes, Hill, Obras, Lekanoff, Paul, McClintock, Couture, Griffey, Berry, Leavitt, Zahn, and Scott)
READ FIRST TIME 02/20/25.
AN ACT Relating to a prescribed fire claims fund pilot program; amending RCW 4.92.220 ; adding a new section to chapter 76.04 RCW; creating a new section; providing expiration dates; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that Washington is experiencing a forest health crisis. Rangeland and forest fires have grown both larger and more damaging in recent years, threatening the health, livelihoods, and homes of Washingtonians. Over the last 10 years, wildfires have burned an average of 470,000 acres across the state. According to the 2020 forest health assessment and treatment framework, approximately 3,000,000 acres in eastern Washington alone are in need of active management or disturbance to improve forest resiliency to stressors such as wildfire and drought.
(2) The legislature finds that prescribed fire and cultural burning are one of the most effective, yet underutilized tools to help address the forest health crisis. Most ecosystems in Washington evolved with fire through stewardship by tribal peoples and ignitions like lightning strikes. Prescribed fire and cultural burning remove dead and downed brush and vegetation, providing more management opportunities for fire suppression across a variety of landscapes by proactively removing hazardous fuels. Compared to wildfire smoke, prescribed fire smoke produces up to 50 percent less PM2.5. Fire also returns important nutrients to the soil, revitalizes plant growth, and improves wildlife habitat. Tribes have used cultural burning since time immemorial to sustain healthy and resilient lands.