As part of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) ongoing efforts to strengthen rural fire districts in wildfire-prone areas, the agency has announced the 10 districts and communities that will receive an additional fire engine at no cost this year.
“Local fire districts are invaluable to successful initial attack efforts,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. “Transferring engines directly to our communities increases the chance of getting wildfires out while they’re still small, thereby reducing the likelihood of the large, costly fires.”
Washington’s fire districts and departments are eligible for DNR’s surplus engines if their county falls under the state average median household income.
In 2017, Washington State Legislature authorized DNR to begin transferring ownership of the agency’s older surplus engines to rural fire districts in wildfire-prone areas.