At Briefing, Cantwell Discusses Federal Resources Helping Spokane Fight Fires

08.02.26 At Briefing, Cantwell Discusses Federal Resources Helping Spokane Fight Fires “Today, it is the top fire in our nation. That means [the federal government is] going to give us the resources that we need here on the ground,” says Cantwell SPOKANE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, spoke at a media briefing about the ongoing Spokane fires. “There are some up here with us who have been evacuated. There are some that have lost their homes. So we are with you in this situation, and we're going to do everything we can to get the federal resources to help you,” said Sen. Cantwell. “I talked to the U.S. [Forest Service] Chief Schultz, who basically said, this is the most [high] risk and resourced fire in the United States. Today, it is the top fire in our nation. That means they are going to give us the resources that we need here on the ground.” Added Sen. Cantwell: “ I ask our fellow Washingtonians to help this region, to be as patient as you can, to listen to what the first responders are saying because we're not out of danger yet. The next couple of days will be challenging, but we are going to do everything we can to make sure the resources are here and continue to make sure that this issue gets our nation's attention.” At the briefing, in addition to Sen. Cantwell, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, Governor Bob Ferguson, Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove, and other elected and emergency officials provided the latest information on the efforts to contain the wildfires in the Spokane area. Video of today’s entire press conference is HERE ; photos are HERE ; a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is HERE ; and a video of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is HERE . A background document detailing Sen. Cantwell’s work to reverse President Trump’s cuts to wildfire funding and bolster wildfire preparedness is available HERE . ### Print Email Tweet Previous Article