Union firefighters oppose rangeland protection associations in Washington

The prospect of ranchers, farmers and other rural landowners organizing into firefighting associations continues to get a cold response from unionized firefighters. State lawmakers should exhaust other ways to extend fire protection to remote areas before authorizing rangeland fire protection associations, Washington State Council of Fire Fighters lobbyist Bud Sizemore said."Right now, our feeling is it could be somewhat of a drain on existing resources rather than a big help," he said. The council represents 130 local firefighter unions. The state could look at enlarging existing fire agencies, he said. "Those structures are already there."Oregon and Idaho have long had rangeland associations. The volunteer organizations — 24 in Oregon and nine in Idaho — are intended to mobilize landowners to put out wildland fires in places far removed from the nearest fire station.Washington has some 363,000 acres that aren't within any fire agency's boundaries, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Fire agencies may still respond to keep fires from spreading to protected land.