Both Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake and Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake brought up the Camp Fire in California as an example of why House Bill 1522 is necessary. The fire started as a power line was downed, and fuel was heavily accessible killing almost 100 people and blazing around 150,000 acres of land including several thousand structures. HB 1522 has investor-owned electric utilities create a wildlife mitigation plan to ensure a similar event does not occur in Washington.
May 5, 2025
Stories this photo appears in:
Utilities required to strengthen fire mitigation plans under WA law
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Legislature has unanimously passed House Bill 1522, a measure designed to bolster the wildfire mitigation strategies of investor-owned electric utilities. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the bill into law on April 24 with it to go into effect on July 27, 2025. “This bill builds on what we’ve already been doing,” said Tom Dent, R-Moses Lakes. “A few years back, we passed a bill that allowed utilities to put together wildfire mitigation plans—to clear brush, cut down hazard trees, and reduce fuel loads. And that’s been working. But now we’re taking it a step further.”