Today's headlines:
- The partial bill is in for fighting wildfires in Washington and Idaho this summer.
- Wildfires may have unlocked a new problem for Spokane homeowners who lost their homes: asbestos.
Oregonians have been experimenting with psilocybin — magic mushrooms — since they're legal there. Here's what researchers have found about them.
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The state of Washington has spent more than $200 million this summer fighting wildfires.
The Washington State Standard reports that’s about two-thirds of what the state spent during the last fiscal year. That was a record. There are still a couple of months left in the season.
It’s also been a pricey summer in Idaho.
Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller says the Gem State has spent about $31 million. It’s working to recover some of that.
Dustin Miller: “Say, for example, we send resources to a fire that's under the management of the State of Oregon, Oregon Department of Forestry. They would then cover our costs and reimburse us for our time, as well as the time on the equipment. So, predominantly, most of those costs that are owed to us are because of sending resources to federal fires.”
Miller says Idaho has about $25 million left in its firefighting account. He told the state Land Board this week that he doesn’t know how much will be left at the end of the season.
Dustin Miller: “We're entering a more challenging period of the 2026 fire season as conditions continue to dry across the state. The significant wildland fire potential outlook indicates above average fire potential statewide through August and September.”
For now, fire starts have slowed in the Northwest. He says the federal government has slightly lowered the fire preparedness level in parts of southern Idaho and the northern Rockies.
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For those who lost homes in the Spokane Complex fires, the process to rebuilding can be a long one. This week, the EPA is sending crews to remove hazardous materials from properties that have burned. Once that is done, the owners can move on to asbestos surveys.
Lisa Woodard is the communications and outreach manager of Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency and she says asbestos can be very dangerous. It’s carcinogenic and there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
WOODARD: There is no safe date of construction to indicate that a structure is asbestos free. So, even newer buildings could have asbestos-containing materials such as mastics, joint compounds and other types of products that you would see in home construction.
The dangers of asbestos are why homeowners need to find an AHERA-certified building inspector to survey the debris on the property. Once the survey is done, regardless of the results, the homeowner can file a Notice of Intent with the Clean Air Agency before the county can issue a demolition permit.
If the survey does come out positive, Woodard says the agency has a list of Washington certified asbestos abatement contractors on its website.
You can find more information here.
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Toxic algae blooms have shown up at several lakes in the Inland Northwest. They're also showing up again at a popular park in Richland, Washington. Health leaders are warning people to keep their dogs out of the water. Courtney Flatt from Northwest Public Broadcasting has more.
The Benton-Franklin Health District has found elevated levels of harmful cyanotoxins at Howard Amon Park in Richland. They started testing water each year when several dogs died in 2021 after playing in the river.
This particular type of algae grows on rocks at the bottom of the riverbed – with known hotspots about 50 miles up the Columbia River. Jim Coleman is with the health district. He says when the algae gets old, it lifts off the rocks.
COLEMAN: “Sometimes that's exacerbated by extreme heat or if the water drops.”
The algae is buoyant and floats downstream. It often gets caught in a big eddy at the park. Coleman says as long as adults stay away from the mat-like chunks, it should still be OK to recreate in this stretch of the river.
But, he says, dogs are especially susceptible to the neurotoxin and should stay out of the water.
I'm Courtney Flatt in Richland, Washington.
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A new study of people in Oregon who used the psychedelic psilocybin with a facilitator found relatively few negative reactions. Amelia Templeton from Oregon Public Broadcasting has more.
The study involved about 350 clients of legal psilocybin service centers across the state. Researchers collected data for three months after they took the psychedelic.
Psilocybin isn’t treated strictly like a medicine in Oregon. People can seek it for any reason and many in the study cited curiosity as well as their mental health.
Study author and OHSU researcher Todd Korthius says a key goal was to see how the safety signals from Oregon compare to the results of far more regulated clinical trials.
“Many people thought that since it was a less controlled environment than clinical trials, there would be more adverse events. And we simply haven’t seen that.”
About 1 percent reported serious adverse reactions including worsening depression and new thoughts of self harm.
Most participants reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression after taking psilocybin. And more than half ranked the experience as among the most meaningful of their lives. In Portland, I'm Amelia Templeton.
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Unemployment in Washington state is higher than the rest of the country. But the World Cup might have brought some gains this summer. Reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan has more.
State economists saw a bump in jobs added last month, specifically in the food and hospitality industries. They say hiring likely picked up because of the FIFA World Cup tournament. Which hosted several games in Seattle this summer.
Unemployment in the state fell slightly for the first time since last January. It’s now at 5 percent. But that’s still high – compared to the rest of the country. National unemployment is just 4%.
State economists say job growth will be slower than expected for the year in total. This month's gains won’t change that much.
Stagnant job growth is also putting pressure on the state budget. Economists say it could be millions of dollars in the red over the next few years.
I'm Sarah Mizes-Tan reporting.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Lisa Leinberger, Courtney Flatt, Amelia Templeton, Sarah Mizes-Tan and Doug Nadvornick, today’s host and producer.
Thanks for listening. This is SPR News.
Web support is provided by Anna Gyure Havlek.
