To secure the country’s wildfire response capability, the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands is calling for a federal vaccination mandate for wildland firefighters.
Commissioner Hilary Franz sent a letter Monday to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting the mandate.
Franz also called for federal resources to make vaccination available at all fire camps on federal lands.
She says as federal firefighters are deployed across the West U.S., a state mandate will not adequately protect against the spread of COVID-19.