Wildfire Resilience in Washington State
- Issuer
- Congressional materials
- Document type
- 2026 01 30 A33765 D293747 Mil Wildfire Resilience In Washington State
- Date
- 2026-01-30
- Case
- 2026 01 30 A33765 D293747 Mil Wildfire Resilience In Washington State
Summary
A slide presentation titled Wildfire Resilience in Washington State, given to the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans Committee on January 30, 2026 by the Washington Military Department Emergency Management Division and the Department of Natural Resources. The slides report that between 2020 and 2025 fires burned 2.3 million acres in the state and that there were 34 FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant declarations. They describe wildfire risk and the roles of state agencies, including the Emergency Management Division, the Office of Insurance Commissioner and the Department of Commerce energy office. A DNR section covers fire season preparedness, current detection technology and funding-dependent future technology. The closing slides list five core components of fire-resilient communities and tools for homeowners such as cost-share grants and WUI codes.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Wildfire Resilience in Washington State.”
Original at app.leg.wa.gov, dated 2026-01-30. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2026-01-30-2026-01-30-a33765-d293747-mil-wildfire-resilience-in-washington-state/
, SHA-256 88afc1697e4aa0438896afb967b26201d05caa106ebcbb2215973ed0f135bd1c.Full text
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Wildfire Resilience
in
Washington State
Anne-marie Marshall-Dody, Assistant Director for Disaster Resilience, WA EMD
George Geissler, Deputy Supervisor Forest Resilience and Wildfire Management, DNR
House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans Committee
January 30, 2026
1
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Fires in Washington State by the Numbers
• Between 2020 and 2025 2.3
million Acres Burned
• 34 FEMA Fire Management
Assistance Grant (FMAG)
declarations supporting
wildfire response.
• Largest fire in state history:
Cold Spring/Pearl Hill,
(Okanogan/Douglas County)
413,835k acres burned, 2020
2
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
What is Washington’s Wildfire Risk
• 70% chance of a wildfire-related
disaster dec each year
• Central WA has highest risk
from direct wildfire impacts
• Frequency, extent, and severity
of fires have increased in last 50
years
• Climate change, population
growth, and urbanization are
together driving the increase in
wildfire risk for WA
• Wildfires are now WA’s most
common natural hazard event
3
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
State Agencies Roles
Washington State
Emergency
Management
Mitigation Planning,
Response
Coordination,
Recovery, Funding
Department of
Fire
Natural Resources
Response and
Recovery
Resilience
Office of Insurance
Commissioner
Department of Financial Resilience
Commerce – Energy
Coordination with
Power Utilities
Energy Resilience
Utility Wildfire
Mitigation
4
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
WA EMD Role in Fire Resilience
• Securing federal funding
following disaster
• Advanced Planning through
Hazard Mitigation Plans
• Coordination of mitigation
funding through state
agencies
5
OIC’s role - Financial Resilience against wildfire peril
• Insurance is an important tool for financial resilience after a wildfire loss.
• Therefore, OIC focuses on ways to promote wildfire mitigation of the property.
• Reduce the frequency and severity of claims lowers insurance costs for
everyone.
• Changing the perception of the risk makes it more likely insurance is
available.
• The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety conducts wildfire mitigation
research.
• Wildfire prepared homes standard is the best science available to mitigate
a home against wind blown embers and wildfire.
• The OIC promotes this system of wildfire mitigation to reduce the impacts
of wildfire loss.
• After the loss, OIC assists in the recovery by setting minimum standards of conduct
the insurer must follow to provide the benefits of the policy to the insured.
Jan 21 workshop 6
Energy Resilience and
Emergency Management Office
Housed in Commerce's State Energy Office, we lead:
• Responsible for securing energy critical infrastructure against threats
• Wildfire preparedness, response and mitigation activities
• Emergency Response Planning and Operations
• Support response to any energy supply disruption including public safety power shut-
offs (PSPS)
• Maintain energy sector response coordination plans, tools and capabilities
• Utility Wildfire Mitigation Program
• Provide planning technical assistance for utility wildfire mitigation planning
• Establish statewide wildfire mitigation program guidelines and resources for electric
utilities
• Energy Resilience and Mitigation Technical Assistance
• Provide local and tribal energy resilience planning
• Support utilities on wildfire mitigation activities and grid resilience and hardening
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 7
WILDFIRE READINESS AND TECHNOLOGY
GEORGE GEISSLER, DEPUTY SUPERVISOR
FOREST RESILIENCE AND WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT
JANUARY 30, 2026
8
FIRE SEASON PREPAREDNESS
• HOST PRE-SEASON READINESS MEETINGS WITH PARTNERS, REGIONS AND OTHERS;
MITIGATE IDENTIFIED ISSUES PRIOR TO THE START OF FIRE SEASON
DNR FILE PHOTOS
• ONBOARD SEASONAL FIREFIGHTERS; TRAIN NEW FIREFIGHTERS AT ACADEMY
• CONDUCT REFRESHER TRAINING AND WORK CAPACITY TESTING TO ENSURE FIREFIGHTER
READINESS
• PREPARE AND STAGE LOGISTICS EQUIPMENT; PREP CAMPS CREWS
• PREPARE AND STAGE AVIATION, HEAVY EQUIPMENT ASSETS;
• ENSURE CONTRACTS FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ARE IN PLACE (PRIVATE, STATE)
• CONDUCT WEEKLY READINESS BRIEFINGS FOR INTERESTED AGENCIES, TRIBAL NATIONS,
LEGISLATIVE STAFF, ETC.
• ANALYZE WEATHER AND FUELS THAT INDICATE POTENTIAL FOR LARGE, DAMAGING
WILDFIRES
• VALIDATE ON-GOING REGION LEVEL READINESS AND INITIAL ATTACK (IA) CAPACITY
• PARTICIPATE IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST COORDINATE GROUP MEETINGS FOCUSED ON
PREDICTIVE SERVICES, INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAMS, AND STATE TO STATE READINESS
• SUPPORT PREVENTION EFFORTS THROUGH COMMUNITY EVENTS UTILIZING SMOKEY BEAR,
FIRE DANGER SIGNAGE, BURN BANNING INFORMATION SHARING, ETC.
• COORDINATE EVACUATION PLANNING AND RESOURCE READINESS WITH EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AND THE FIRE SERVICE
TECHNOLOGY
CURRENT TECHNOLOGY
• INFRARED, MAPPING, VISUALS AND VIDEO ON MULTI-MISSION
AIRCRAFT (MMA) (ALSO SUPPORTED FLOOD RESPONSE IN DECEMBER)
• PANO AI CAMERAS FOR EARLY DETECTION, SMOKE AND FIRE BEHAVIOR
MONITORING, AND LOCATION SERVICES
• UTILIZE INTTERRA SATELLITE IMAGERY AND LIGHTNING DETECTION TO
DEVELOP COMMON OPERATING PICTURE (COP) FOR EMERGENCY PANO AI, INC. FILE PHOTO
RESPONSE
FUTURE TECHNOLOGY (FUNDING DEPENDENT)
• BUILD OUT AI CAMERA SYSTEM; CONGRUENT WITH NOAA SATELLITE
DATA
• SATELLITE LINK TO MMA FOR REAL TIME IMAGING AND FIRE TRACKING
• PARTNER WITH UNIVERSITIES TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY
(E.G. DETAILED RISK ANALYSIS AND FUELS TREATMENT MONITORING
FOR FIRE EFFECTS) WFMD AVIATION PROGRAM FILE: INFRARED IMAGE OF FIRE PERIMETER,
WITH HEAT SHOWING OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Core components of fire – resilient communities
1) Fire-resistant built environments
2) Landscape-scale fuel management
3) Prepared and aware residents
4) Firefighting and response capabilities
5) Government-supported plans and initiatives
11
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Tools that help promote fire resilience for homeowners
• Property risk assessments provided by
local fire district staff
• Cost-share grants for defensible space
and home-hardening actions
• Clear standards via WUI codes
• Affordable Ignition-resistant building
materials
• Community awareness events
12
File and source
- File
- 2026-01-30_a33765_d293747_mil-wildfire-resilience-in-washington-state.pdf
- Size
- 2,112,004 bytes
- SHA-256
- 88afc1697e4aa0438896afb967b26201d05caa106ebcbb2215973ed0f135bd1c
- Original
- app.leg.wa.gov