Department of Natural Resources is preparing for busy fire season

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 18, 2026

The state Department of Natural Resources’ Wildfire & Dispatch program is preparing for a busy fire season.

The upcoming season, along with fire resilience efforts, the Elwha Watershed study, anticipated timber sales and more, was discussed Tuesday evening during a virtual community meeting.

“We are anticipating an active fire season due to the current weather and fuel conditions,” said Eric Flanigan, fire district manager for the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Olympic Region.

During his portion of the presentation, Flanigan provided more information about the Olympic Region’s Wildfire & Dispatch program, which provides protection across the region, including 371,000 acres of state, 1 million acres of private and 1.55 million acres of partner-protected lands in Clallam, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties.

“Our dispatch center is located at our region headquarters in Forks,” Flanigan said. “They operate five days a week from Nov. 1 to May 31, and from June 1 to Oct. 31, the dispatch center operates seven days a week.”

The program has 60 permanent and seasonal staff members who man nine engines, nine hand crews, heavy equipment, aviation resources, dispatch operations and fire training and qualifications, according to the presentation.

The dispatch center provides 24/7 radio and phone coverage, resource ordering and coordination, emergency management and incident support, and interagency coordination with fire districts and partner agencies, according to the presentation.

The department kept 95.5 percent of fires contained during the first operational shift, 98 percent of fires held to fewer than 10 acres and only had two extended attack incidents during the season last year, according to the presentation.

“With our quick initial attack response, we’re able to keep fires small, reduce the number of acres burnt, and reduce the cost of suppression of the fires, which is a big cost savings to the state,” Flanigan said.

Staff for the department includes permanent and seasonal fire personnel, ready reserve firefighters and dispatch personnel. The Olympic Region maintains aviation response capability, including DNR helicopters and planes.

“Going into the 2026 fire season, the Olympic Region is fully staffed and will continue to focus on strategic pre-positioning of resources during elevated fire danger,” Flanigan said.

In relation to firefighting efforts, Gary Bell, forest resilience district manager for the Olympic Region, discussed the Forest Resilience Service Forestry program, which was established in the Olympic Region in 2022 to focus on forest health and fire risk reduction.

“We work with landowners providing consultations and onsite visits for management activities,” Bell said. “And the focus is on improving forest health and reducing fire hazards on small forest land ownerships that are in need of management. The goal of the program overall is just to support the small forest landowners and our forest land management partners and increasing forest resilience.”

The Forest Resilience Service Forestry program has three staff members in the Olympic Region who, in 2025, processed 39 cost-shares, treated 301 footprint acres, had 472 interactions with landowners and attended 17 outreach/education/community events.

Elwha watershed

Olympic Region staff are currently conducting an analysis of the ecological and conservation values of the Elwha watershed on state-owned lands managed by DNR, said Bill Wells, Olympic Region manager.

The analysis is an action directed by state Senate Bill 5195, which designated $250,000 for the purpose. DNR must provide the Legislature with a report by Oct. 1.

The purpose is to conduct a Washington Natural Heritage Program site survey to identify rare flora and native ecological communities, find the locations of structurally complex forests, note any scenic or other natural features worthy of consideration for conservation, note the current uses, including recreation and cultural practices, and to identify lands appropriate for Natural Area Preserves or Natural Resources Conservation Areas.

The first community engagement session on the study occurred Nov. 18. The second is set for 9 a.m. today. To attend the virtual meeting, go to tinyurl.com/PDN-DNR-Elwha-Meeting. A third session is planned for later in the summer or early fall.

For more information about the Elwha study, go to dnr.wa.gov/elwhastudy.

During the question-and-answer period, Wells said additional timber sales in the Elwha watershed are paused until the analysis is completed.

Timber sales

Another big area of discussion was the anticipated timber sales in the Olympic Region, which is split into two districts: the Straits District and the Coast District.

Ben Stein, Straits District manager, said the district covers the west of Lake Crescent east to Port Townsend and south to the Mason County line. The district has 12 staff members and covers 101,000 acres.

The district has 14 anticipated timber sales coming up this year and in 2027.

Michael Potter, Coast District manager, said the district stretches from Grays Harbor County to the south, north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and east to Deep Creek. That district has 17 staff members and covers 270,000 acres.

The district has 19 anticipated timber sales coming up this year and in 2027.

The full video of the webinar should be available within five business days. To watch the video, go to dnr.wa.gov/contact-dnr/dnr-regions-and-districts. A link will be posted mid-way down the page under the paragraph about the Olympic region.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.