Firefighters need all the resources we can offer

States across the western United States are being ravaged by intense wildfires, especially here in Washington. Every day, our wildland firefighters, pilots, and emergency response teams are on the front lines trying to suppress damaging fires while protecting communities across the state.

This year, wildfires have already burned over 230,000 acres in Washington, and as summer temperatures stay hot and winds pick up, they have the potential to destroy even more of our forests, ranches, and communities. Our area has unfortunately suffered extreme destruction and devastation, and our rural communities are feeling the brunt of it.

The Swawilla Fire near the Coville Reservation has claimed residences and burned over 50,000 acres in the area. The Big Horn Fire in Klickitat County, which is thankfully now 100 percent contained, burned over 51,000 acres near the Washington-Oregon border.

While our firefighters and emergency responders fight these fires on the front lines, it is incumbent upon us in Congress to ensure they have the federal resources they need. Unfortunately, federal wildland fire management programs haven’t always received the proper funding from Congress needed to contain or suppress fires that we are seeing regularly. At the end of the day, we must ensure federal agencies are well equipped to tackle wildfires while paying the wildland firefighters and pilots a wage worth the dangers they face.

I’m proud of the work I’ve done in Congress to bolster fire management programs and support the men and women on the front lines. These programs should be funded at the level needed to effectively contain these wildfires at a large scale. Anything short of that is a failure.

I was proud to support the Fiscal Year 2025 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, which passed the House of Representatives just a few weeks ago on July 24. This bill increases the Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service’s wildland fire management programs by a combined $186 million over last year, representing just how serious Congress is taking the growing wildfire crisis. These programs help fund our wildland aviators who support crews on the ground while defending communities facing destruction. Without these top-notch pilots, wildfires would burn even more acres of forest and rangeland.

Given the extreme danger our wildland firefighters endure, we must take the steps needed to compensate them for their frontline efforts. The Interior Appropriations bill increases wildland firefighter pay while ensuring there is no future lapse in pay. There should never be a time when a wildland firefighter has to worry about putting food on the table when they return home from battling a fire.

As unfortunate as it is, wildfires have come to be expected in our area, and there is no sign of them letting up. While forest management is improving, we need to also prioritize resources for better management to help mitigate these fires from starting in the first place. Federal agencies need all available resources to meet the challenge of responding to these destructive fires. I am proud of my work in Washington, D.C., to ensure wildfire management programs are robustly funded while delivering a pay increase to the brave individuals who are protecting our communities right here in Central Washington.