WildFire Cost Escalation

What is happening? State budgets are being strained by the cost of wildfire prevention according to a new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts. From 2010 to 2014 the State of Washington spent $24 million a year on wildfire prevention, but starting in 2015 the annual cost rose to $83 million. The report points to the number of different governmental agencies that respond to wildfires as complicating disaster funding.

Why is this important? using data on previous fires often underestimates state costs and thereby causes budgetary problems for states according to the report.

Route Fifty |Wildfires are Burning an Ever-larger Hole in State Budgets