By The Seattle Times editorial board
The Seattle Times on December 9, 2025
Suppose you’re looking to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death. You might opt for a healthier diet, exercise, or a prescription drug to lower your cholesterol levels. Your first impulse is likely not to think about how much you’ll have to pay the hospital after you suffer a heart attack.
Yet in meeting the rising threat of wildfire, Washington’s Legislature seems to be heading into a problem akin to the above analogy. Lawmakers gutted funding earlier this year from a landmark law to help prevent catastrophic wildfire. And now, legislators are discussing establishing a wildfire victims fund for blazes caused by power utilities’ infrastructure — for use after wildfires have destroyed neighborhoods.
Lawmakers have it backward. Their highest priority in the upcoming legislative session should be to restore full funding to prevent blazes and better safeguard the state from fire risks.
Read the entire story HERE.
