Washington wildfires

Washington Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz has called for the legislature to support a bill that would provide a dedicated funding source for wildfire response and forest health work.

Franz says the bill would provide $125 million every biennium to fund new firefighters and aircraft and work to upgrade existing helicopters.

Cooler, wetter weather has helped crews battling a large wildfire burning on the Colville Indian Reservation.

Fire spokesman Michael Krueger says as much as two inches of rain fell Saturday and Sunday on areas in and around the fire.

UPDATED: Crews continue to make progress on the Upriver Beacon Fire in the Spokane Valley. 

More than 225 firefighters from federal, state and local agencies are working to contain the fire, which started Tuesday near the 6400 block of East Upriver Drive in Spokane.

With all this water in our region right now -- one of the wettest springs ever -- the chance of a wildfire starting and gaining traction somewhere is pretty remote. But the memories of the severe wildfire seasons of 2014 and 2015 — speaking of the power of Mother Nature — are still fresh in the minds of Washington elected leaders.

Last week, Governor Jay Inslee, Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and a few others met with landowners like Bonnie Cobb a bit west of Spokane. They wanted to see the work these folks had done to keep their homes and property safe from wildfire.

Last year’s fire season was a brutal one in northeastern Washington. With that in mind, the Colville Tribe has decided to ban all fireworks on the reservation.