Rep. Schrier Joins Prescribed Fire Event in Roslyn

ISSAQUAH, WA – U.S. Representative Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) joined wildland firefighters from around Washington state for a prescribed burn in Roslyn Urban Forest yesterday. Rep. Schrier donned wildland firefighting gear and held a drip torch while helping the prescribed fire crew create "good fire." Rep. Schrier has been pushing in Congress for more funding for prescribed fire, a tool that can be deployed to prevent more catastrophic fires during the fire season.

"It was an incredible experience to join firefighters and The Nature Conservancy yesterday for their prescribed burn," said Rep. Schrier. "It's one thing to see photos. But another thing entirely to be in a forest, holding a drip torch, gaining a better understanding of what our firefighters experience and the barriers that too often prevent this important work from being done."

Yesterday's Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) was organized by the Washington Prescribed Fire Council. The TREX crew was made up of personnel from the Roslyn Fire Department, Kittitas County Fire District 1, Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue, Kittitas County Fire District 7, Washington Department of Natural Resources, University of Washington/Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory, and The Nature Conservancy.

These training events increase the ability of fire professionals to mitigate the risk of unplanned summer fires that put nearby communities at risk of catastrophic impacts. These prescribed burns also help local firefighters practice fire management.

Rep. Schrier introduced the National Prescribed Fire Act earlier this year that will increase the amount of funding available to groups like TREX to hold prescribed burns during the fire off-season. In 2018, the Forest Service determined that 234 million acres of forest are at a high risk of dangerous wildfires. Yet, controlled burns treated only 3 million acres annually during the last decade. Unfortunately, because vegetation grows continuously, the Forest Service will never be able to address the current hazardous fuels backlog at its current pace.

Rep. Schrier continued, "There is no ‘no smoke' option. This is about choosing whether we experience smoke in a small, controlled, planned fashion that protects our forests in the off-season, or whether we choke on smoke for weeks each summer from catastrophic wildfires. Prescribed burns emit one-fifth of the smoke of wildfires and cut down on the dry wood that fuels catastrophic wildfires."

Video of Rep. Schrier assisting firefighters with the controlled burn.