Cantwell Joins Interior Sec. Burgum in Spokane For Fire Briefing

Cantwell Joins Interior Sec. Burgum in Spokane For Fire Briefing

SPOKANE, WA - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at a briefing about response to and recovery from the fires that devastated the Spokane community earlier this month.

"At today's briefing with Sec. Burgum, U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy, and local fire chiefs, we discussed the next steps in responding to the fires and collecting information for a federal disaster declaration," Sen. Cantwell said.

"We also learned that this situation could have been a lot worse. We should be thankful for that, and we should be thankful for California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 and the firefighters who have continued to respond after the incident.

"There was a lot of discussion about technology and how we need to invest in it more so we can have even faster responses.

"Lahaina, Palisades, and now Spokane. We're seeing these big urban events that can do so much damage in a short period of time. Today we discussed what policies need to change and the practices we need to improve to be better prepared."

On Sunday, August 2, the day after the fires broke out, Sen. Cantwell visited county and city command centers in Spokane and took part in a press briefing about the devastating fires there.

On Tuesday, August 4, Sen. Cantwell called for improved wildfire preparedness in a U.S. Senate roundtable with Chief Bob Roper of the Western Chiefs Fire Association and other experts. "We just have to move faster," said Sen. Cantwell. "My heart goes out to the people of Washington who are dealing with this across our state, particularly in Spokane, and in the Lake Chelan area as well."

In September 2025, Sen. Cantwell's Fire Ready Nation Act passed the U.S. Senate unanimously. The bipartisan Fire Ready Nation Act would formally establish a permanent Fire Weather Services program within NOAA and authorize funding for new technologies to forecast weather conditions that cause and impact wildfires.

A background document detailing Sen. Cantwell's work to bolster wildfire preparedness is available HERE.

Photos of Sen. Cantwell at today's briefing are HERE.