BILL REQUEST - CODE REVISER'S OFFICE

(1)

BILL REQUEST - CODE REVISER'S OFFICE

BILL REQ. #: S-4952.4/16 4th draft ATTY/TYPIST: ML:eab

(2)

AN ACT Relating to wildfire management; amending RCW 70.94.6536, 1

70.94.6538, 76.04.205, 76.04.315, 43.43.960, 43.43.961, 43.43.961, 2

43.43.962, and 43.88.550; reenacting and amending RCW 76.04.005 and 3

43.43.960; adding new sections to chapter 76.04 RCW; creating new 4

sections; providing an effective date; providing expiration dates; 5

and declaring an emergency. 6

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 7

PART 1 8

INTENT AND FINDINGS 9

NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature 10

finds that the record breaking 2014 and 2015 fire seasons have 11

devastated our lands and local economies. Wildfires burned over one 12

million acres in Washington. Nearly five hundred families and 13

businesses saw their homes and structures destroyed by wildfire 14

during the 2015 fire season alone. Communities dependent on seasonal 15

tourism and the agriculture and timber industries struggled with 16

nearly six months of unpredictable closures due to wildfire danger 17

and smoke hazards. 18

The legislature recognizes that fire is a natural part of forest 19

ecosystems. However, past fire suppression paradigms, along with 20

(3)

significant decreases in federal forest management activities and 1

severe drought conditions have led to excessive fuel accumulation in 2

overstocked stands that are susceptible to intense burns. 3

The legislature finds that approximately two million seven 4

hundred thousand acres of the ten million acres of forest land in 5

eastern Washington are at high risk of damage by disease, insects, 6

and wildfire. It is the intent of the legislature to initiate 7

aggressive action to reduce wildfire fuel and restore forest health 8

conditions. The legislature intends to employ all available fire 9

prevention techniques, including mechanical thinning and prescribed 10

fire, to restore Washington forest land health, ensure public health 11

and safety, and support local communities most affected by wildfire. 12

The legislature also finds that buffer zones on lands adjacent to 13

forested lands significantly reduce the risk of wildfire spread and 14

benefit the maintenance of biodiversity in our lands. 15

The legislature finds that prescribed fire is a valuable tool for 16

fuel management and ecosystem restoration. The legislature further 17

finds that over ninety-nine percent of prescribed fires are 18

successfully held within planned perimeters. Short-term risks must be 19

balanced with long-term benefits to fire-dependent ecosystems, 20

habitat, and public health and safety. 21

PART 2 22

STATEWIDE FIRE MANAGEMENT 23

NEW SECTION. Sec. 201. STATE WILDFIRE INSURANCE POLICY. (1) 24

Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific 25

purpose, by July 31, 2016, the department of enterprise services, in 26

coordination with the department of natural resources, must use a 27

request for information to a broad base of wildfire insurance 28

carriers to gain an understanding of requirements to insure the state 29

against wildfire suppression costs and data needed for an accurate 30

quote. 31

(2) By September 30, 2016, the department of enterprise services, 32

in coordination with the department of natural resources, must use a 33

request for quote to a broad base of wildfire insurance carriers to 34

discern how each carrier would meet the needs of Washington and the 35

cost of annual premiums. Preference must be given to insurance 36

policies with a deductible of fifty million dollars or less, but for 37

(4)

purposes of this section and for comparison, the departments may 1

solicit quotes with varying deductibles. 2

(3) By November 30, 2016, the department of enterprise services, 3

in coordination with the department of natural resources, must report 4

to the legislature on: The criteria used in the request for 5

information and request for quote; information gathered; premium and 6

deductible data; and all other relevant information gathered during 7

the solicitation process. If more than one insurance carrier offers a 8

policy quote, the report must also include recommendations as to 9

which insurer and insurance policy best fits the needs of the state. 10

No formal request for proposal may be issued under this section 11

absent express authorization from the legislature. 12

NEW SECTION. Sec. 202. A new section is added to chapter 76.04 13

RCW to read as follows: 14

FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIC PLAN. (1) Subject 15

to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific 16

purpose, by December 31, 2018, the department must develop and 17

implement a twenty-year strategic plan to treat areas of Washington 18

forest land identified by the department as being in poor forest 19

health condition and to manage resources for wildfire prevention and 20

suppression in a more efficient and effective manner. The department 21

must develop the forest health and wildfire management strategic plan 22

in consultation with relevant local, state, and federal agencies, 23

tribes, forest landowners, representatives from milling and log 24

transportation industries, and other interested parties from the 25

nonprofit and commercial sectors. 26

(2) The strategic plan must be updated at least every two years 27

and must include timelines and, at a minimum, strategies to: 28

(a) Implement an actionable plan to restore and maintain 29

statewide forest health and resilience within twenty years; 30

(b) Facilitate communication and coordination between local, 31

regional, state, federal, and tribal fire personnel; 32

(c) Improve public education and local outreach regarding 33

wildland fire prevention and suppression activities; 34

(d) Streamline contract procedures to perform forest health 35

treatments on public and private lands; 36

(e) Expand technical assistance programs for local governmental 37

entities and private landowners; 38

(5)

(f) Address barriers to wildfire prevention and suppression 1

activities, particularly in rural areas where resources may be 2

limited; 3

(g) Using best available science, manage riparian areas to create 4

buffers against wildfire and protect water quality and aquatic 5

species habitat from detrimental effects of wildfires; 6

(h) Deploy efficient and effective initial attack response to 7

prevent wildland fire spread; and 8

(i) Integrate statewide usage of upgraded fire modeling 9

technology and remote wildfire detection technology, such as ground-10

based smoke sensors or manned aircraft for reconnaissance, to ensure 11

deployment of appropriate fire resources. 12

(3)(a) The department must report to the legislature on its 13

progress in developing and implementing the forest health and 14

wildfire management strategic plan by December 31, 2016, and December 15

31, 2017. The report must include relevant fiscal information and 16

recommendations for any legislative action needed to execute the 17

strategic plan. 18

(b) The department must report to the legislature on the final 19

forest health and wildfire management strategic plan by December 31, 20

2018, and every two years thereafter in conjunction with its budget 21

request process under chapter 43.88 RCW. Each report must include, at 22

minimum, the following: 23

(i) Descriptions of specific forest health or resiliency and 24

wildfire management projects planned or underway at the time of 25

reporting, including partners, timelines, resources required, and 26

fiscal information associated with each project; 27

(ii) A summary of projects identified in the previous version of 28

the strategic plan that have since been completed; 29

(iii) A summary of updates made to the previous version of the 30

strategic plan and reasons for those updates; 31

(iv) Other significant achievements related to forest health and 32

wildfire management not already included in the strategic plan; and 33

(v) Significant barriers to attaining specific goals in the 34

strategic plan, if any, and recommendations for any legislative 35

action to address those barriers. 36

Sec. 203. RCW 70.94.6536 and 1995 c 143 s 1 are each amended to 37

read as follows: 38

(6)

SMOKE MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE. (1)(a) The department of natural 1

resources shall administer a program to reduce statewide emissions 2

from silvicultural forest burning so as to achieve the following 3

minimum objectives: 4

(((a))) (i) Twenty percent reduction by December 31, 1994 5

providing a ceiling for emissions until December 31, 2000; and 6

(((b))) (ii) Fifty percent reduction by December 31, 2000 7

providing a ceiling for emissions thereafter. 8

(b) Reductions shall be calculated from the average annual 9

emissions level from calendar years 1985 to 1989, using the same 10

methodology for both reduction and base year calculations. 11

(2)(a) The department of natural resources, within twelve months 12

after May 15, 1991, shall develop a plan, based upon the existing 13

smoke management agreement to carry out the programs as described in 14

this section in the most efficient, cost-effective manner possible. 15

The plan shall be developed in consultation with the department of 16

ecology, public and private landowners engaged in silvicultural 17

forest burning, and representatives of the public. 18

(b) The plan shall recognize the variations in silvicultural 19

forest burning including, but not limited to, a landowner's 20

responsibility to abate an extreme fire hazard under chapter 76.04 21

RCW and other objectives of burning, including abating and preventing 22

a fire hazard, geographic region, climate, elevation and slope, 23

proximity to populated areas, and diversity of land ownership. The 24

plan shall establish priorities that the department of natural 25

resources shall use to allocate allowable emissions, including but 26

not limited to, silvicultural burning used to improve or maintain 27

fire dependent ecosystems for rare plants or animals within state, 28

federal, and private natural area preserves, natural resource 29

conservation areas, parks, and other wildlife areas. The plan shall 30

also recognize the real costs of the emissions program and recommend 31

equitable fees to cover the costs of the program. 32

(c) The emission reductions in this section are to apply to all 33

forest lands including those owned and managed by the United States. 34

If the United States does not participate in implementing the plan, 35

the departments of natural resources and ecology shall use all 36

appropriate and available methods or enforcement powers to ensure 37

participation. 38

(d) The plan shall include a tracking system designed to measure 39

the degree of progress toward the emission reductions goals set in 40

(7)

this section. The department of natural resources shall report 1

annually to the department of ecology and the legislature on the 2

status of the plan, emission reductions and progress toward meeting 3

the objectives specified in this section, and the goals of this 4

chapter and chapter 76.04 RCW. 5

(3)(a) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for 6

this specific purpose, by December 31, 2018, the department of 7

natural resources must, in consultation with the department of 8

ecology, other relevant state and federal agencies, participating 9

tribes, and public and private landowners engaged in silvicultural 10

forest burning, update the smoke management plan developed under 11

subsection (2) of this section. The purpose of the smoke management 12

plan update is to encourage the continuation of silvicultural or 13

forest land burning as an important resource management tool. 14

(b) The department of natural resources must update the smoke 15

management plan through a science-based stakeholder process that 16

balances forest health and public health interests. The department of 17

natural resources must, at minimum, update or address provisions in 18

the smoke management plan that: 19

(i) Identify communities most vulnerable to wildfire and 20

prioritize prescribed burning and other appropriate resiliency 21

treatments on lands surrounding those communities; 22

(ii) Raise the minimum threshold to be considered a large fire; 23

(iii) Provide longer range forecasts for permitted prescribed 24

burns, including twenty-four hour and forty-eight hour forecasts; 25

(iv) Authorize individual prescribed burns twenty-four hours 26

prior to ignition of the fire. Any burn decision made twenty-four 27

hours in advance is subject to change if meteorological conditions or 28

conditions affecting smoke dispersion are different from those 29

anticipated and are forecast to contribute significantly to either an 30

exceedance of an air quality standard or to a threat to public health 31

or safety; 32

(v) Allow the department to authorize, by special burn permit, 33

prescribed burning on days when the department would otherwise deny 34

burning if the denial of such a permit would threaten imminent and 35

substantial economic loss; 36

(vi) Clarify the criteria the department of natural resources 37

considers when determining whether a burn "has the potential to 38

affect communities" with respect to multiple day burns; 39

(8)

(vii) Increase utilization of multiple day burns and coordinate 1

with prescribed burn managers with approved multiple day burn permits 2

to ensure predictability and to maximize opportunities to burn on 3

each day of the approved multiple day burn permit; and 4

(viii) The department of natural resources may not deny a 5

prescribed burn solely on the potential for smoke intrusions into 6

communities unless the smoke intrusion is forecast to contribute 7

significantly to either an exceedance of an air quality standard or 8

to a significant threat to public health or safety. 9

(c) The department of natural resources must adopt rules pursuant 10

to chapter 34.05 RCW to implement the smoke management plan adopted 11

under this section. 12

(d) The department of natural resources must report to the 13

legislature on its progress in updating the smoke management plan, 14

including summaries of meetings held, stakeholders included, public 15

comments received, policies as they are updated, and relevant budget, 16

expenditure, and fund source information by December 31, 2016, and 17

December 31, 2017. 18

(4) If the December 31, 1994, emission reductions targets in this 19

section are not met, the department of natural resources, in 20

consultation with the department of ecology, shall use its authority 21

granted in this chapter and chapter 76.04 RCW to immediately limit 22

emissions from such burning to the 1994 target levels and limit 23

silvicultural forest burning in subsequent years to achieve equal 24

annual incremental reductions so as to achieve the December 31, 2000, 25

target level. If, as a result of the program established in this 26

section, the emission reductions are met in 1994, but are not met by 27

December 31, 2000, the department of natural resources in 28

consultation with the department of ecology shall immediately limit 29

silvicultural forest burning to reduce emissions from such burning to 30

the December 31, 2000, target level in all subsequent years. 31

(((4))) (5) Emissions from silvicultural burning in eastern 32

Washington that is conducted for the purpose of restoring forest 33

health or preventing the additional deterioration of forest health 34

are exempt from the reduction targets and calculations in this 35

section if the following conditions are met: 36

(a) The landowner submits a written request to the department 37

identifying the location of the proposed burning and the nature of 38

the forest health problem to be corrected. The request shall include 39

a brief description of alternatives to silvicultural burning and 40

(9)

reasons why the landowner believes the alternatives not to be 1

appropriate. 2

(b) The department determines that the proposed silvicultural 3

burning operation is being conducted to restore forest health or 4

prevent additional deterioration to forest health; meets the 5

requirements of the state smoke management plan to protect public 6

health, visibility, and the environment; and will not be conducted 7

during an air pollution episode or during periods of impaired air 8

quality in the vicinity of the proposed burn. 9

(c) Upon approval of the request by the department and before 10

burning, the landowner is encouraged to notify the public in the 11

vicinity of the burn of the general location and approximate time of 12

ignition. 13

(((5))) (6) The department of ecology may conduct a limited, 14

seasonal ambient air quality monitoring program to measure the 15

effects of forest health burning conducted under subsection (((4))) 16

(5) of this section. The monitoring program may be developed in 17

consultation with the department of natural resources, private and 18

public forest landowners, academic experts in forest health issues, 19

and the general public. 20

Sec. 204. RCW 70.94.6538 and 2009 c 118 s 502 are each amended 21

to read as follows: 22

BURN PERMIT AUTHORITY. The department of natural resources in 23

granting burning permits for fires for the purposes set forth in RCW 24

70.94.6534 shall condition the issuance and use of such permits to 25

comply with air quality standards established by the department of 26

ecology after full consultation with the department of natural 27

resources.(( Such burning shall not cause the state air quality 28

standards to be exceeded in the ambient air up to two thousand feet 29

above ground level over critical areas designated by the department 30

of ecology, otherwise subject to air pollution from other sources. 31

Air quality standards shall be established and published by)) The 32

department of ecology ((which shall)) must also establish a procedure 33

for advising the department of natural resources when and where air 34

contaminant levels exceed or threaten to exceed the ambient air 35

standards over such critical areas. The air quality shall be 36

quantitatively measured by the department of ecology or the 37

appropriate local air pollution control authority at established 38

monitoring stations over such designated areas. Further, such 39

(10)

permitted burning shall not cause damage to public health or the 1

environment. All permits issued under this section shall be subject 2

to all applicable fees, permitting, penalty, and enforcement 3

provisions of this chapter. The department of natural resources shall 4

set forth smoke dispersal objectives designed consistent with this 5

section to minimize any air pollution from such burning and the 6

procedures necessary to meet those objectives. 7

The department of natural resources shall encourage more intense 8

utilization in logging and alternative silviculture practices ((to 9

reduce the need for burning)) and encourage thinning to reduce fuel 10

loads and prescribed burning when appropriate for forest health 11

improvement and fire prevention. The department of natural resources 12

shall, whenever practical, encourage landowners to ((develop and)) 13

use ((alternative acceptable)) effective and efficient disposal 14

methods ((subject to the following priorities)), including the 15

following: (((1))) Slash production minimization((, (2))); slash 16

utilization((, (3))); nonburning disposal((, (4))); and silvicultural 17

burning. Such alternative methods shall be evaluated as to the 18

relative impact on air, water, and land pollution, public health, and 19

their financial feasibility. 20

The department of natural resources shall not issue burning 21

permits and shall revoke previously issued permits at any time in any 22

area where the department of ecology or local board has declared a 23

stage of impaired air quality as defined in RCW 70.94.473. 24

read as follows: 26

BURN PERMIT REVOCATION OR POSTPONEMENT. (1) Except in certain 27

areas designated by the department or as permitted under rules 28

adopted by the department, a person shall have a valid written 29

burning permit obtained from the department to burn: 30

(a) Any flammable material on any lands under the protection of 31

the department; or 32

(b) Refuse or waste forest material on forest lands protected by 33

the department. 34

(2) To be valid a permit must be signed by both the department 35

and the permittee. Conditions may be imposed in the permit for the 36

protection of life, property, or air quality and (([the department])) 37

the department may suspend or revoke the permits when conditions 38

warrant. A permit shall be effective only under the conditions and 39

(11)

for the period stated therein. Signing of the permit shall indicate 1

the permittee's agreement to and acceptance of the conditions of the 2

permit. 3

(3) The department may inspect or cause to be inspected the area 4

involved and may issue a burning permit if: 5

(a) All requirements relating to firefighting equipment, the work 6

to be done, and precautions to be taken before commencing the burning 7

have been met; 8

(b) No unreasonable danger will result; and 9

(c) Burning will be done in compliance with air quality standards 10

established by chapter 70.94 RCW. 11

(4) The department, authorized employees thereof, or any warden 12

or ranger may refuse, revoke, or postpone the use of ((permits)) a 13

permit to burn only when necessary for the safety of adjacent 14

property or when ((necessary in their judgment to prevent air 15

pollution)) the particular burn at issue is forecast to contribute 16

significantly to either an exceedance of an air quality standard as 17

provided in chapter 70.94 RCW or to create a threat to public health 18

or safety. 19

read as follows: 21

BURN BAN AUTHORITY. (1) In times and localities of unusual fire 22

danger, the department may issue an order suspending any or all 23

burning permits or privileges authorized by RCW 76.04.205 and may 24

prohibit absolutely the use of fire in such locations. 25

(2) For the purposes of this section, "unusual fire danger" means 26

adverse weather and fire fuel conditions, in combination with the 27

prevalence of ignition sources, that indicate high potential over a 28

large area for a fire to ignite, spread, and require suppression 29

action. 30

FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT COOPERATION. (1) The legislature finds 33

that over twenty-seven percent of Washington state lands are owned by 34

federal agencies. The legislature further finds that increased 35

coordination and improved communication between state and federal 36

government agencies is necessary for effective forest health 37

treatments and wildfire prevention and suppression activities. 38

(12)

(2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 1

specific purpose, the department must enter into discussions with the 2

federal agencies managing land in the state with the objective of 3

entering into or updating existing memoranda of understandings or 4

contracts regarding forest health and wildfire management. The 5

department must initiate these discussions with all relevant federal 6

partners including, but not limited to, the United States forest 7

service, the bureau of land management, the national park service, 8

the United States fish and wildlife service, and the army corps of 9

engineers. The department may consult with federally recognized 10

tribes, forest landowners, and other entities involved in forest 11

health treatment or wildfire prevention and suppression for the 12

negotiations required by this section. 13

(3) The department must discuss, with the objective on agreeing 14

to terms regarding, the following issue areas: 15

(a) Cost and labor-sharing agreements for forest health 16

treatments conducted on federally owned lands; 17

(b) Timelines and measurable forest health improvement goals 18

reachable within ten years of the date of agreement; 19

(c) Streamlining processes to share fire protection resources 20

across jurisdictional lines; and 21

(d) Improving interagency cooperation to facilitate rapid initial 22

response to fire. For example, the department may enter into an 23

agreement with a federal partner to share in attacking wildfires 24

along common ownership boundaries and exchange assistance free of 25

charge across agency jurisdictions during the first twenty-four hours 26

of a fire. 27

(4) By December 31, 2016, the department must report to the 28

legislature on the following: 29

(a) All agreements with federal land management partners in place 30

as of the effective date of this section; 31

(b) A log of efforts undertaken to enter into either new 32

agreements or to update existing agreements as required by this 33

section; 34

(c) Agreements entered into or updated as a result of those 35

efforts listed under (b) of this subsection; 36

(d) Significant barriers, if any, to reaching consensus; 37

(e) Recommendations for any legislative action that will 38

encourage intergovernmental cooperation; and 39

(f) Relevant fiscal information. 40

(13)

(5) For efficiency, the department may include the report 1

required in this subsection as part of the report on the forest 2

health and wildfire management strategic plan, also due on December 3

31, 2016, as required under section 202(3) of this act. 4

NEW SECTION. Sec. 208. JOINT FIREFIGHTER TRAINING. The 5

legislature finds that training firefighters from different agencies 6

together to the same national standards prepares firefighters to work 7

together seamlessly once a wildland fire starts. Joint training also 8

results in effective integration and deployment of assets, such as 9

the national guard, when fire severity levels are high. The 10

department of natural resources must strive to ensure adequate 11

capacity of trained, effective firefighting forces across all 12

available local, state, and federal agencies, tribes, and the private 13

sector to meet state needs during each fire season. In addition, 14

subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific 15

purpose, the national guard must coordinate with the department of 16

natural resources to maintain trained firefighters to be deployed as 17

needed during the fire season. 18

NEW SECTION. Sec. 209. COORDINATED COMMAND FOR LARGE FIRES. 19

The legislature finds that critical shortages in command personnel 20

have resulted in delays in deploying needed resources, such as fire 21

crews and equipment, during periods of high fire severity. Subject to 22

the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, 23

the department of natural resources must strive to ensure that 24

adequately trained fire commanders are available to dispatch 25

resources where they are needed most. To foster efficient year-round 26

workforce management, the department of natural resources must, 27

whenever practical, train existing department or local fire district 28

personnel to fill such additional fire commander positions during the 29

fire season. 30

NEW SECTION. Sec. 210. AERIAL ATTACK. The legislature finds 31

that cost-efficient aerial resources are necessary to attack and 32

suppress wildland fires before the fires spread and cause devastation 33

to our land, ecosystem, and communities. Subject to the availability 34

of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department of 35

natural resources must enter into ninety-day contracts for fixed-wing 36

single engine air tankers for wildland fire suppression and strive to 37

(14)

ensure sufficient fire aviation personnel, including operations 1

managers and dispatchers, are available to coordinate and deploy 2

aviation assets where they are most needed. 3

MULTILINGUAL PRESCRIBED BURN NOTICES. Prior to conducting a 6

prescribed burn, the department is encouraged to notify the public in 7

the vicinity of the burn of the general location, approximate time of 8

ignition, and expected duration of the prescribed burn. The 9

department may notify the public through written and verbal notices, 10

press releases to local media, and social media. The department is 11

further encouraged to give such notifications in a language that 12

diverse residents can understand when a significant segment of the 13

community speaks a language other than English and has limited 14

proficiency in English. 15

NEW SECTION. Sec. 212. ACCOUNTING FOR FOREST HEALTH AND FIRE 16

MANAGEMENT-RELATED APPROPRIATIONS. (1) By December 31, 2016, the 17

department of natural resources must report to the legislature on how 18

funds appropriated in the 2016 supplemental operating budget for use 19

related to forest health and wildfire management were expended or are 20

expected to be expended in 2017. In particular, the report must 21

include an accounting of funds appropriated for the following 22

purposes: 23

(a) An inventory of fire engines and other equipment provided to 24

local fire districts under sections 301 and 302 of this act; 25

(b) A roster of firefighters and fire commanders trained under 26

sections 208 and 209 of this act; 27

(c) A list of coordinated command staff and a demonstrable 28

correlation between those staff and the commensurate expansion of 29

wildland fire response capability. The list must include information 30

showing the relevant certification or certifications each individual 31

holds, each individual's primary geographic location, and, if trained 32

under section 209 of this act, whether each individual was already 33

employed by the department or a local fire district as of the 34

effective date of this section; 35

(d) A list of department-owned or controlled aviation resources, 36

including staff, available to the department during the 2015 fire 37

season, a list of additional aviation resources, including staff, as 38

(15)

of the time of reporting, and a demonstrable correlation between the 1

additional equipment and staff and the commensurate expansion of 2

aerial firefighting capability; 3

(e) An inventory of additional radios and radio-related equipment 4

purchased and information on how and where the equipment was put into 5

service; 6

(f) A log of fire prevention coordinators' interactions with 7

landowners and communities about becoming firewise and reducing 8

wildfire hazards; 9

(g) A log of fire technicians' interactions with local fire 10

districts, other local entities, landowners, and individuals about 11

coordinated wildland fire preparedness, response, and wildfire 12

prevention actions; and 13

(h) Lists and maps of state, federal, tribal, and private lands 14

treated to improve forest health and reduce wildfire hazards, 15

including descriptions of the types of treatments applied, whether 16

mechanical or prescribed burning, and a description of a program for 17

ongoing monitoring and assessment of treatment effectiveness. 18

(2) For efficiency, the department of natural resources may 19

include the report required in this section as part of the report on 20

the forest health and wildfire management strategic plan, also due on 21

December 31, 2016, as required under section 202(3) of this act. 22

PART 3 23

LOCAL FIRE MANAGEMENT 24

NEW SECTION. Sec. 301. LOCAL FIRE EQUIPMENT. (1) The 25

legislature finds that it is necessary to improve the initial attack 26

capabilities of local fire districts to keep wildland fires small and 27

to avoid the catastrophic large fire costs and impacts witnessed 28

during the 2014 and 2015 fire seasons. 29

this specific purpose, the department of natural resources must 31

determine where additional fire resources are needed and which local 32

fire districts would most benefit from those additional resources. 33

Fire resources may include, but are not limited to, fire engines, 34

safety equipment, chainsaws, and radios. 35

(b) In making fire resource determinations under this section, 36

the department of natural resources must, at minimum, consider the 37

following factors: 38

(16)

(i) Geographic location, including whether the local fire 1

district is located in a fire-prone area; and 2

(ii) Particular resource needs identified either by the 3

department of natural resources or by the local fire district, based 4

on a ten-year history of wildland fire activity in or near the local 5

fire district's jurisdiction. 6

PERSONAL PROTECTION GEAR FOR VOLUNTEERS. (1) Subject to the 9

availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the 10

department must provide all necessary personal protection gear at no 11

cost to each fire suppression volunteer for use while the volunteer 12

is dispatched to wildland fire suppression duty. If the department 13

cannot provide the personal protection gear, it must offer to 14

reimburse any volunteer who purchases new equipment suitable for the 15

kind of volunteer work to be performed. If the volunteer accepts 16

reimbursement, the volunteer must surrender the equipment for which 17

he or she was reimbursed when the volunteer period comes to an end. 18

(2) The department must ensure the inventory of personal 19

protection gear for volunteers is kept in good condition through 20

periodic safety inspections. The personal protection gear must be 21

stored in a geographic area and manner for quick distribution to 22

volunteers when needed for wildland fire suppression. 23

(3) For purposes of this section, "volunteers" means qualified 24

individuals who are not affiliated with a fire department or district 25

and who perform fire suppression activities for the department 26

without any expectation of compensation. The department must require 27

proof of adequate training and possession of valid incident 28

qualifications, such as those commonly known as "red cards" or "blue 29

cards" before allowing any volunteer to assist the department in fire 30

suppression activities. 31

(4) Qualified volunteers identified in subsection (3) of this 32

section may be dispatched to support wildland fire suppression 33

efforts through the coordinated resource ordering systems of local or 34

state firefighting organizations. Volunteers are prohibited from 35

independently assigning themselves to wildfires without an official 36

resource order. 37

(17)

(5) Nothing in this section prohibits the department from 1

conducting condensed safety training on the site of a wildland fire 2

in order to utilize available volunteers. 3

(6) No civil liability may be imposed by any court on the state 4

or its officers and employees for any adverse impacts resulting from 5

the training, equipping, or dispatching of volunteers under the 6

provisions of this section except upon proof of gross negligence or 7

willful or wanton misconduct. 8

LOCAL WILDLAND FIRE SEVERITY ACCOUNT CREATED. (1) The local 11

wildland fire severity account is created in the state treasury. All 12

moneys appropriated to the account by law must be deposited in the 13

account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. 14

Expenditures from the account may only be used by the department 15

consistent with this section and to provide funding for the 16

implementation of section 304 of this act. 17

(2) All appropriations to the local wildland fire severity 18

account are separate and in addition to all base wildfire suppression 19

appropriations provided directly to the department. 20

(3) Every two years as part of its budget request process under 21

chapter 43.88 RCW, the department must prepare a budget request for 22

the local wildland fire severity account based on the demand on the 23

account in recent biennia and the anticipated fire conditions for the 24

requested biennium. 25

LOCAL WILDLAND FIRE SEVERITY PROGRAM. (1) A local suppression 28

entity that has satisfied the prerequisites established in this 29

section may contact the department and request prepositioned fire 30

suppression resources be provided in the jurisdiction of the 31

requesting local suppression entity if a severity condition is 32

declared for the area of request. 33

(2) The department may release assets requested under this 34

section by a local suppression entity based on availability of assets 35

and any applicable regionally coordinated priority for the placement 36

of assets. Any requested aerial or specialized suppression assets may 37

(18)

only be released within the context of an interagency regional 1

coordination agreement. 2

(3) As a prerequisite to receiving resources under this section, 3

a local suppression entity must establish agreements, prior to its 4

funding request, with the department and, as applicable, with other 5

local suppression entities and local fire suppression assets in the 6

general vicinity of the requesting local suppression entity's 7

jurisdiction. The purpose of these agreements is to ensure that the 8

prepositioning of assets during severity conditions is well planned 9

prior to the onset of the severity conditions and the release of 10

assets. 11

(4)(a) The costs of fulfilling the requests of local suppression 12

entities under this section must be incurred initially by the 13

department out of its base wildfire suppression appropriation. The 14

department may reimburse itself from the local wildland fire severity 15

account created in section 303 of this act for the costs incurred 16

fulfilling requests under this section within the same fiscal 17

biennium of incurring the costs. 18

(b) If the costs incurred by the department under this section 19

exceed the balance in the local wildland fire severity account, the 20

department may continue to implement this section and may receive 21

reimbursements for the costs incurred by subsequent supplemental 22

legislative appropriations to the local wildland fire severity 23

account. 24

(5) Nothing in this section creates or infers additional 25

liability on the department, the state fire marshal, a local response 26

entity, or a contractor of the department or a local response entity 27

in any suppression efforts funded through the local wildland fire 28

severity account or for the failure to fund suppression efforts. 29

(6) This section is subject to the availability of amounts 30

appropriated for the specific purpose of this section. 31

NEW SECTION. Sec. 305. LOCAL WILDLAND FIRE SEVERITY REPORT. (1) 32

purpose, by October 31, 2018, the department of natural resources 34

must present a report to the legislature, consistent with RCW 35

43.01.036, that summarizes the demand placed on the local wildland 36

fire severity account and an estimate of a funding level for the 37

local wildland fire severity account that would more accurately match 38

the demand on the account. 39

(19)

(2) This section expires June 30, 2019. 1

Sec. 306. RCW 76.04.005 and 2015 c 182 s 7 are each reenacted 2

and amended to read as follows: 3

DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter, the following terms have 4

the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 5

(1) "Additional fire hazard" means a condition existing on any 6

land in the state: 7

(a) Covered wholly or in part by forest debris which is likely to 8

further the spread of fire and thereby endanger life or property; or 9

(b) When, due to the effects of disturbance agents, broken, down, 10

dead, or dying trees exist on forest land in sufficient quantity to 11

be likely to further the spread of fire within areas covered by a 12

forest health hazard warning or order issued by the commissioner of 13

public lands under RCW 76.06.180. The term "additional fire hazard" 14

does not include green trees or snags left standing in upland or 15

riparian areas under the provisions of RCW 76.04.465 or chapter 76.09 16

RCW. 17

(2) "Closed season" means the period between April 15th and 18

October 15th, unless the department designates different dates 19

because of prevailing fire weather conditions. 20

(3) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of public lands. 21

(4) "Department" means the department of natural resources, or 22

its authorized representatives, as defined in chapter 43.30 RCW. 23

(5) "Department protected lands" means all lands subject to the 24

forest protection assessment under RCW 76.04.610 or covered under 25

contract or agreement pursuant to RCW 76.04.135 by the department. 26

(6) "Disturbance agent" means those forces that damage or kill 27

significant numbers of forest trees, such as insects, diseases, wind 28

storms, ice storms, and fires. 29

(7) "Emergency fire costs" means those costs incurred or approved 30

by the department for emergency forest fire suppression, including 31

the employment of personnel, rental of equipment, and purchase of 32

supplies over and above costs regularly budgeted and provided for 33

nonemergency fire expenses for the biennium in which the costs occur. 34

(8) "Exploding target" means a device that is designed or 35

marketed to ignite or explode when struck by firearm ammunition or 36

other projectiles. 37

(9) "Forest debris" includes forest slash, chips, and any other 38

vegetative residue resulting from activities on forest land. 39

(20)

(10) "Forest fire service" includes all wardens, rangers, and 1

other persons employed especially for preventing or fighting forest 2

fires. 3

(11) "Forest land" means any unimproved lands which have enough 4

trees, standing or down, or flammable material, to constitute in the 5

judgment of the department, a fire menace to life or property. 6

Sagebrush and grass areas east of the summit of the Cascade mountains 7

may be considered forest lands when such areas are adjacent to or 8

intermingled with areas supporting tree growth. Forest land, for 9

protection purposes, does not include structures. 10

(12) "Forest landowner," "owner of forest land," "landowner," or 11

"owner" means the owner or the person in possession of any public or 12

private forest land. 13

(13) "Forest material" means forest slash, chips, timber, 14

standing or down, or other vegetation. 15

(14) "Incendiary ammunition" means ammunition that is designed to 16

ignite or explode upon impact with or penetration of a target or 17

designed to trace its course in the air with a trail of smoke, 18

chemical incandescence, or fire. 19

(15) "Landowner operation" means every activity, and supporting 20

activities, of a forest landowner and the landowner's agents, 21

employees, or independent contractors or permittees in the management 22

and use of forest land subject to the forest protection assessment 23

under RCW 76.04.610 for the primary benefit of the owner. The term 24

includes, but is not limited to, the growing and harvesting of forest 25

products, the development of transportation systems, the utilization 26

of minerals or other natural resources, and the clearing of land. The 27

term does not include recreational and/or residential activities not 28

associated with these enumerated activities. 29

(16) "Local fire suppression assets" means firefighting equipment 30

that is located in close proximity to the wildland fire and that 31

meets department standards and requirements. 32

(17) "Local wildland fire liaison" means the person appointed by 33

the commissioner to serve as the local wildland fire liaison as 34

provided in RCW 43.30.111. 35

(18) "Participating landowner" means an owner of forest land 36

whose land is subject to the forest protection assessment under RCW 37

76.04.610. 38

(21)

(19) "Sky lantern" means an unmanned self-contained luminary 1

device that uses heated air produced by an open flame or produced by 2

another source to become or remain airborne. 3

(20) "Slash" means organic forest debris such as tree tops, 4

limbs, brush, and other dead flammable material remaining on forest 5

land as a result of a landowner operation. 6

(21) "Slash burning" means the planned and controlled burning of 7

forest debris on forest lands by broadcast burning, underburning, 8

pile burning, or other means, for the purposes of silviculture, 9

hazard abatement, or reduction and prevention or elimination of a 10

fire hazard. 11

(22) "Suppression" means all activities involved in the 12

containment and control of forest fires, including the patrolling 13

thereof until such fires are extinguished or considered by the 14

department to pose no further threat to life or property. 15

(23) "Unimproved lands" means those lands that will support 16

grass, brush and tree growth, or other flammable material when such 17

lands are not cleared or cultivated and, in the opinion of the 18

department, are a fire menace to life and property. 19

(24) "Local suppression entity" means a city, county, fire 20

department, fire district, or other nonstate, nonfederal public 21

entity responsible for suppressing wildland fires within its 22

jurisdiction. 23

(25) "Local wildland fire severity account" means the account 24

created in section 303 of this act to assist in funding immediate, 25

local suppression efforts. 26

(26) "Severity conditions" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 27

43.43.960. 28

Sec. 307. RCW 43.43.960 and 2015 c 181 s 2 are each reenacted 29

and amended to read as follows: 30

DEFINITIONS. ((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,)) 31

The definitions in this section apply throughout this subchapter 32

unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 33

(1) "All risk resources" means those resources regularly provided 34

by fire departments, fire districts, and regional fire protection 35

service authorities required to respond to natural or man-made 36

incidents, including but not limited to: 37

(a) Wild land fires; 38

(b) Landslides; 39

(22)

(c) Earthquakes; 1

(d) Floods; and 2

(e) Contagious diseases. 3

(2) "Chief" means the chief of the Washington state patrol. 4

(3) "Fire chief" includes the chief officer of a statutorily 5

authorized fire agency, or the fire chief's authorized 6

representative. Also included are the department of natural resources 7

fire control chief, and the department of natural resources regional 8

managers. 9

(4) "Jurisdiction" means state, county, city, fire district, 10

regional fire protection service authority, or port district units, 11

or other units covered by this chapter. 12

(5)(a) "Mobilization" means that all risk resources regularly 13

provided by fire departments, fire districts, and regional fire 14

protection service authorities beyond those available through 15

existing agreements will be requested and, when available, sent in 16

response to an emergency or disaster situation that has exceeded the 17

capabilities of available local resources. During a large scale 18

emergency, mobilization includes the redistribution of regional or 19

statewide risk resources to either direct emergency incident 20

assignments or to assignment in communities where resources are 21

needed. Fire department resources may not be mobilized to assist law 22

enforcement with police activities during a civil protest or 23

demonstration, however, fire departments, fire districts, and 24

regional fire protection service authorities are not restricted from 25

providing medical care or aid and firefighting when mobilized for any 26

purpose. 27

(b) When mobilization is declared and authorized as provided in 28

this chapter, all risk resources regularly provided by fire 29

departments, fire districts, and regional fire protection service 30

authorities including those of the host fire protection authorities, 31

i.e. incident jurisdiction, shall be deemed as mobilized under this 32

chapter, including those that responded earlier under existing mutual 33

aid or other agreement. All nonhost fire protection authorities 34

providing resources in response to a mobilization declaration shall 35

be eligible for expense reimbursement as provided by this chapter 36

from the time of the mobilization declaration. 37

(c) This chapter shall not reduce or suspend the authority or 38

responsibility of the department of natural resources under chapter 39

76.04 RCW. 40

(23)

(6) "Mutual aid" means emergency interagency assistance provided 1

without compensation under an agreement between jurisdictions under 2

chapter 39.34 RCW. 3

(7) "Severity conditions" means that the conditions in a region 4

of the state indicate a high level of wildfire risk as indicated by 5

official actions, such as the declaration of a red flag warning, of 6

the issuance of a high wildfire probability by a state or federal 7

wildland fire organization. 8

(8) "State fire marshal" means the director of fire protection in 9

the Washington state patrol. 10

read as follows: 12

((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,)) The 13

definitions in this section apply throughout this subchapter unless 14

the context clearly requires otherwise. 15

(1) "Chief" means the chief of the Washington state patrol. 16

(2) "State fire marshal" means the director of fire protection in 17

the Washington state patrol. 18

(3) "Fire chief" includes the chief officer of a statutorily 19

authorized fire agency, or the fire chief's authorized 20

representative. Also included are the department of natural resources 21

fire control chief, and the department of natural resources regional 22

managers. 23

(4) "Jurisdiction" means state, county, city, fire district, or 24

port district firefighting units, or other units covered by this 25

chapter. 26

(5)(a) "Mobilization" means that firefighting resources beyond 27

those available through existing agreements will be requested and, 28

when available, sent in response to an emergency or disaster 29

situation that has exceeded the capabilities of available local 30

resources. During a large scale emergency, mobilization includes the 31

redistribution of regional or statewide firefighting resources to 32

either direct emergency incident assignments or to assignment in 33

communities where firefighting resources are needed. 34

(b) When mobilization is declared and authorized as provided in 35

this chapter, all firefighting resources including those of the host 36

fire protection authorities, i.e. incident jurisdiction, shall be 37

deemed as mobilized under this chapter, including those that 38

responded earlier under existing mutual aid or other agreement. All 39

(24)

nonhost fire protection authorities providing firefighting resources 1

in response to a mobilization declaration shall be eligible for 2

expense reimbursement as provided by this chapter from the time of 3

the mobilization declaration. 4

(c) This chapter shall not reduce or suspend the authority or 5

responsibility of the department of natural resources under chapter 6

76.04 RCW. 7

(6) "Mutual aid" means emergency interagency assistance provided 8

without compensation under an agreement between jurisdictions under 9

chapter 39.34 RCW. 10

(7) "Severity conditions" means that the conditions in a region 11

of the state indicate a high level of wildfire risk as indicated by 12

official actions, such as the declaration of a red flag warning, of 13

the issuance of a high wildfire probability by a state or federal 14

wildland fire organization. 15

read as follows: 17

PREPOSITIONING ASSETS DURING SEVERITY CONDITIONS. (1)(a) Because 18

of the possibility of the occurrence of disastrous fires or other 19

disasters of unprecedented size and destructiveness, the need to 20

((insure)) ensure that the state is adequately prepared to respond to 21

such a fire or disaster, the need to establish a mechanism and a 22

procedure to provide for reimbursement to state agencies and local 23

agencies that respond to help others in time of need or to a host 24

fire district that experiences expenses beyond the resources of the 25

fire district, the need to allow the prepositioning of wildland fire 26

suppression assets during severity conditions, and generally to 27

protect the public peace, health, safety, lives, and property of the 28

people of Washington, it is hereby declared necessary to: 29

(((1))) (i) Provide the policy and organizational structure for 30

large scale mobilization of all risk resources in the state through 31

creation of the Washington state fire services mobilization plan; 32

(((2))) (ii) Confer upon the chief the powers provided herein; 33

(((3))) (iii) Provide a means for reimbursement to state agencies 34

and local fire jurisdictions that incur expenses when mobilized by 35

the chief under the Washington state fire services mobilization plan 36

and when prepositioning assets during severity conditions; and 37

(((4))) (iv) Provide for reimbursement of the host fire 38

department or fire protection district when it has: (((a))) 39

(25)

(A) Exhausted all of its resources; and (((b))) 1

(B) Invoked its local mutual aid network and exhausted those 2

resources. 3

(b) Upon implementation of state fire mobilization, the host 4

district resources shall become state fire mobilization resources 5

consistent with the fire mobilization plan. 6

(2) It is the intent of the legislature that mutual aid and other 7

interlocal agreements providing for enhanced emergency response be 8

encouraged as essential to the public peace, safety, health, and 9

welfare, and for the protection of the lives and property of the 10

people of the state of Washington. If possible, mutual aid agreements 11

should be without stated limitations as to resources available, time, 12

or area. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed or interpreted to 13

limit the eligibility of any nonhost fire protection authority for 14

reimbursement of expenses incurred in providing all risk resources 15

for mobilization provided that the mobilization must meet the 16

requirements identified in the Washington state fire service 17

mobilization plan. 18

read as follows: 20

PREPOSITIONING ASSETS DURING SEVERITY CONDITIONS. (1)(a) Because 21

of the possibility of the occurrence of disastrous fires or other 22

disasters of unprecedented size and destructiveness, the need to 23

((insure)) ensure that the state is adequately prepared to respond to 24

such a fire or disaster, the need to establish a mechanism and a 25

procedure to provide for reimbursement to state agencies and local 26

firefighting agencies that respond to help others in time of need or 27

to a host fire district that experiences expenses beyond the 28

resources of the fire district, the need to allow the prepositioning 29

of wildland fire suppression assets during severity conditions, and 30

generally to protect the public peace, health, safety, lives, and 31

property of the people of Washington, it is hereby declared necessary 32

to: 33

(((1))) (i) Provide the policy and organizational structure for 34

large scale mobilization of firefighting resources in the state 35

through creation of the Washington state fire services mobilization 36

plan; 37

(((2))) (ii) Confer upon the chief the powers provided herein; 38

(26)

(((3))) (iii) Provide a means for reimbursement to state agencies 1

and local fire jurisdictions that incur expenses when mobilized by 2

the chief under the Washington state fire services mobilization plan 3

and when prepositioning assets during severity conditions; and 4

(((4))) (iv) Provide for reimbursement of the host fire 5

department or fire protection district when it has: (((a))) 6

(A) Exhausted all of its resources; and (((b))) 7

(B) Invoked its local mutual aid network and exhausted those 8

resources. Upon implementation of state fire mobilization, the host 9

district resources shall become state fire mobilization resources 10

consistent with the fire mobilization plan. 11

(2) It is the intent of the legislature that mutual aid and other 12

interlocal agreements providing for enhanced emergency response be 13

encouraged as essential to the public peace, safety, health, and 14

welfare, and for the protection of the lives and property of the 15

people of the state of Washington. If possible, mutual aid agreements 16

should be without stated limitations as to resources available, time, 17

or area. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed or interpreted to 18

limit the eligibility of any nonhost fire protection authority for 19

reimbursement of expenses incurred in providing firefighting 20

resources for mobilization. 21

Sec. 311. RCW 43.43.962 and 2010 1st sp.s. c 7 s 47 are each 22

amended to read as follows: 23

FIRE SERVICES MOBILIZATION PLAN. (1)(a) The director of fire 24

protection shall review and make recommendations to the chief on the 25

refinement and maintenance of the Washington state fire services 26

mobilization plan, which shall include the procedures to be used 27

during fire and other emergencies for coordinating local, regional, 28

and state fire jurisdiction resources and the procedures for 29

arranging prepositioning of resources during severity conditions. In 30

carrying out this duty, the director of fire protection shall consult 31

with and solicit recommendations from representatives of state and 32

local fire and emergency management organizations, regional fire 33

defense boards, and the department of natural resources. 34

(b) The Washington state fire services mobilization plan shall be 35

consistent with, and made part of, the Washington state comprehensive 36

emergency management plan. The chief shall review the fire services 37

mobilization plan as submitted by the director of fire protection, 38

recommend changes that may be necessary, and approve the fire 39

(27)

services mobilization plan for inclusion within the state 1

comprehensive emergency management plan. 2

(2) It is the responsibility of the chief to mobilize 3

jurisdictions under the Washington state fire services mobilization 4

plan. The state fire marshal shall serve as the state fire resources 5

coordinator when the Washington state fire services mobilization plan 6

is mobilized. 7

read as follows: 9

FIRE SUPPRESSION EXPENSES. (1) Based on schedules submitted by 10

the director of financial management, the state treasurer shall 11

transfer from the general fund—state, or such other funds as the 12

state treasurer deems appropriate, to the Clarke-McNary fund such 13

amounts as are necessary to meet unbudgeted forest firefighting 14

expenses, including expenses incurred from the implementation of 15

section 304 of this act. 16

(2) All amounts borrowed under the authority of this section 17

shall be repaid to the appropriate fund, together with interest at a 18

rate determined by the state treasurer to be equivalent to the return 19

on investments of the state treasury during the period the amounts 20

are borrowed. 21

NEW SECTION. Sec. 313. SURVEY TO IDENTIFY RESILIENCY TREATMENTS 22

NEAR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. (1) Subject to the availability of 23

amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department of 24

natural resources must identify: 25

(a) Communities that are particularly vulnerable during the 26

wildfire season; and 27

(b) Lands surrounding the communities identified in (a) of this 28

subsection with forest health conditions that would benefit from 29

forest health or resiliency treatment. 30

(2) By December 31, 2016, the department of natural resources 31

must report to the legislature on its findings, including a list of 32

the communities identified under subsection (1)(a) of this section, 33

and a list of the lands identified under subsection (1)(b) of this 34

section, organized according to the following elements: 35

(a) Whether the land is state land, under the department's fire 36

protection, or all other land; and 37

(28)

(b) Within each category listed in (a) of this subsection, by the 1

ease or level of investment needed to apply necessary forest health 2

or resiliency treatment, including a description of which treatment 3

or treatments are necessary and particular geographic or other 4

challenges to treating a specific area, if any. 5

(3) The report required in subsection (2) of this section must 6

include an actionable plan to treat all land identified under 7

subsection (1)(b) of this section, including timelines, and identify 8

additional actions that may be required prior to treatment, such as 9

entering cost-sharing and landowner maintenance agreements with 10

private landowners. The report must also include recommendations for 11

additional resources or legislative action needed to complete forest 12

health or resiliency treatments identified under subsection (2)(b) of 13

this section. For efficiency, the department may include the report 14

required in this section as part of the report on the forest health 15

and wildfire management strategic plan, also due on December 31, 16

2016, as required under section 202(3) of this act. 17

NEW SECTION. Sec. 314. WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE CODE ADOPTION 18

INCENTIVES. Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for 19

this specific purpose, by December 31, 2016, the department of 20

natural resources must recommend to the appropriate committees of the 21

legislature options to incentivize adoption of the International 22

Wildland Urban Interface Code, published by the international code 23

council, inc., particularly by counties at high risk during wildfire 24

season. For efficiency, the department of natural resources may 25

include the report required in this section as part of the report on 26

the forest health and wildfire management strategic plan, also due on 27

December 31, 2016, as required under section 202(3) of this act. 28

NEW SECTION. Sec. 315. EXPIRATION DATE. Sections 307 and 309 of 29

this act expire July 1, 2019. 30

NEW SECTION. Sec. 316. EFFECTIVE DATE. Sections 308 and 310 of 31

this act take effect July 1, 2019. 32

PART 4 33

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAMS 34

(29)

PRESCRIBED BURN MANAGER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM CREATED. (1) 3

purpose, the department must create a prescribed burn manager 5

certification program for those who practice prescribed burning in 6

the state. The certification program must include training on all 7

relevant aspects of prescribed fire in Washington including, but not 8

limited to, the following: Legal requirements; safety; weather; fire 9

behavior; smoke management; prescribed fire techniques; public 10

relations; planning; and contingencies. 11

(2) The department may not require certification under the 12

program created under subsection (1) of this section for burn permit 13

approval under this chapter. Nothing in this section may be construed 14

as creating a mandatory prescribed burn manager certification 15

requirement to conduct prescribed burning in Washington. 16

(3) No civil or criminal liability may be imposed by any court on 17

the state or its officers and employees, or a prescribed burn manager 18

certified under the program created under subsection (1) of this 19

section, for any direct or proximate adverse impacts resulting from a 20

prescribed fire conducted under the provisions of this chapter except 21

upon proof of gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. 22

(4) The department may adopt rules to create the prescribed burn 23

manager certification program and to set periodic renewal criteria. 24

The department may also adopt rules to establish a decertification 25

process for certified prescribed burn managers who commit a violation 26

under this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter. The 27

department may, in its own discretion, develop an equivalency test 28

for experienced prescribed burn managers. 29

NEW SECTION. Sec. 402. PUBLIC EDUCATION RELATED TO PROTECTING 30

STRUCTURES FROM FIRE. (1) The legislature finds that the record 2015 31

fire season saw over one million acres burned across the state. The 32

legislature further finds that in addition to the devastating effect 33

on our land and economy, wildfires destroyed four hundred ninety-nine 34

structures, including three hundred seven primary residences, twenty-35

one commercial structures, and one hundred seventy-seven 36

outbuildings. The legislature finds that the state must employ the 37

best firefighting techniques, products, and technologies to prevent 38

the unnecessary destruction of structures during future wildfire 39

(30)

incidents. Last, the legislature finds that educating home and 1

business owners on how they may safely protect their structures from 2

encroaching wildfire is in the best interest of the state and fire-3

prone communities. 4

this specific purpose, by July 1, 2016, the department of natural 6

resources must create and distribute educational material regarding 7

foams, gels, and other products designed to protect structures from 8

encroaching wildfires by direct mailer to homeowners in communities 9

located in fire-prone areas of the state. The department must also 10

create and maintain a web page on its web site regarding the 11

availability, benefits, and other information about foams, gels, and 12

other products designed to protect structures from encroaching 13

wildfires. The department may coordinate with other entities involved 14

in fire suppression activities, including local fire districts, to 15

carry out the activities required in this section. 16

(b) Nothing in this subsection creates or infers additional 17

liability on the department or any other entity coordinating with the 18

department to carry out this section. Nothing in this section 19

prevents the department from omitting products the department 20

determines are likely impractical for homeowners in the Washington 21

fire landscape from educational materials or the web site required by 22

this section. No educational material distributed or made available 23

by the department may be construed as an endorsement of any product 24

type or specific commercial product. 25

(3) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 26

specific purpose, the department of natural resources must expand its 27

programs to provide wildfire prevention education, community outreach 28

programs, and technical assistance to landowners. The department of 29

natural resources must also strive to ensure landowner compliance 30

with grant and contract requirements with respect to forest health, 31

resiliency, or fuels reduction treatments, burn permit conditions, 32

and industrial fire precaution levels. 33

NEW SECTION. Sec. 403. FOREST RESILIENCY BURNING PILOT PROJECT 34

CREATED. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for 35

this specific purpose, the department of natural resources must 36

conduct a forest resiliency burning pilot project. The goal of the 37

pilot project is to monitor and evaluate the benefits of forest 38

resiliency burning and the impacts on ambient air quality. The 39

(31)

department of natural resources is responsible for establishing the 1

processes and procedures necessary to administer the pilot project, 2

including the review and approval of qualifying forest resiliency 3

burning proposals. The department of natural resources may consider 4

forest resiliency burning proposals that include treatments to reduce 5

fuel loads prior to burning, including the thinning of forest stands 6

and grazing to clear brush. 7

(2)(a) The department of natural resources must, as the primary 8