Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, is working on a bipartisan bill that would make funding for aviation wildfire suppression permanent. The Aviation Assurance Funding Program, enacted in 2023, requires the Washington Department of Natural Resources to assist local fire departments with aviation resources for early wildfire attacks. If passed, House Bill 2104 would continue the program, ensuring local fire departments have immediate, consistent access to aviation support.
“If you hire an aircraft or a helicopter to come out and work through the morning and knock a fire down, it’s going to be — be anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on the name of aircraft, or we can spend a million dollars plus for a state mobilization,” Dent said in a public hearing Friday.
According to the DNR’s 2025 Wildfire Legislative Report, as of Sept. the department provided aerial support to 41 incidents, delivering more than 790,000 loads of retardant water, and protecting about $100 million worth of infrastructure through the program. Ryan Rodruck, wildfire communications manager for DNR, called the program a “big success” for expediting initial response times.
Columbia Basin Herald – Metered source
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