House Bill 1498

In the past, if a local fire department needed to use air support from the state, crews had to go through multiple agencies before resources would be deployed. But with legislation that passed unanimously last session, they can now call the resources directly.The legislation — House Bill 1498 — was called a success by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Crews kept most of the state’s fires under 10 acres with initial attack success from air support, according to the department.