Firefighters work to control the Upriver Fire on June 16. Photo/ Spokane Valley Fire Department.
SPOKANE VALLEY – A wildfire that ripped through the Northwood area of Spokane County this week would have been far worse if lawmakers hadn’t stepped up to the plate this year and restored $60 million in wildfire funding, says Sen. Leonard Christian.
The Spokane Valley Republican said the Legislature’s decision this year to maintain the state’s wildfire prevention and response program paid off in a big way as the Upriver Fire surged into the housing subdivision north of the Spokane River near Felt’s Field. The state program enabled rapid deployment of the state’s air fleet, Christian said, blunting the effect of the fire in its critical early stages. The fire continued to burn Friday after destroying 12 houses and leaving one person dead.
“In the nick of time, the Legislature approved funding to put our state’s wildfire program back on track,” Christian said. “This program, together with the efforts of first responders, prevented a devastating fire from doing even more damage. And I think there is a crucial lesson in this for Olympia. When we write a new budget next year, we can’t play with fire.”
Washington is in the sixth year of an innovative eight-year program that has put the state on the forefront of wildfire prevention efforts. The $500 million effort, championed by former Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and lawmakers of both parties, takes a proactive approach to wildfire, including forest thinning, the deployment of new fire-detection technologies, and putting ground crews and the state’s air fleet on standby.
The preparation allowed the state Department of Natural Resources to quickly dispatch aircraft to the blaze, including three helicopters and two large air tankers. Meanwhile, firefighters battled inch-by-inch, constructing fire lines around the perimeter of the fire as a first step toward its containment. DNR coordinated with county and city fire agencies as ground crews were deployed.
“At this point, the best thing we can do is stand back, let the first responders do their jobs, and let them know how much we appreciate them,” Christian said. “They are doing a heroic job, and it looks like everything is working as it is supposed to. How often can we say that about a state program?
“We’ve seen numerous indications of success on the state level, like the fact that Oregon saw six times the fire damage we did in 2024, or that Roslyn and Cle Elum survived the Labor Mountain Fire in 2025. But what has happened in Spokane County so far this season is the best demonstration yet that we need to stay the course on fire prevention.”
In 2025, the Legislature, under Democratic control, responded to a budget shortfall by slashing wildfire funding in half for the 2025-27 budget cycle. If this year’s Legislature had failed to restore funding, DNR warned that it would have been forced to cut funding for advanced fire detection and standby deployment of air crews.
“Clearly the restoration of wildfire funding made a difference here,” Christian said. “But I don’t think the Legislature should spend a lot of time patting itself on the back for restoring the funding because it never should have been cut in the first place. The really disturbing thing is that we could be right back in the same boat next year. We are being told we will face a nightmarish budget crisis, and that everything is in jeopardy. We need to look at what has happened here in Spokane and recognize that every dollar we spend on wildfire prevention is repaid many times over. When we write a new budget next year, wildfire funding should not be seen as optional.”
Christian said he plans to work with county officials to ensure tax relief is provided to area residents whose properties were damaged in the fire.