Nisqually Valley News

Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz met with General Dan Dent of the Washington Army National Guard and State Forester George Geissler Saturday to discuss mitigating the spread of COVID-19 while fighting wildfires in the region, as roughly 80 guard members met to complete the first major virtual fire academy with a day of field training near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Roy.

“One of our number one priorities in our communities is to keep our firefighters safe from fire,” said Franz, whose office is in charge of the state Department of Natural Resources. “This is a historical moment in the context that we’ve never had to deal with the issue of trying to keep them safe from all the challenges that wildfire presents coupled with a deadly pandemic.”

Read the full article.