By Melissa Snchez
The Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. — A bill created after the landmark Silver Dollar Cafe burned down last fall has moved through the state Senate.
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, would essentially require firefighters at the scene of a wildfire to respond in so-called “no-man’s lands,” which do not belong to a fire protection district.
The bill is a response to concerns raised after the Dry Creek Complex Fire in August destroyed 49,000 acres of grass and brush between Sunnyside and Hanford and the Silver Dollar Cafe, at the junction of State Route 241 and State Route 24.
Residents complained to Honeyford and other lawmakers that the Aug. 20 lightning strike fires could have been better contained were it not for contradictory orders, lack of action and jurisdictional concerns among firefighters.
Honeyford proposed the legislation after a Nov. 23 meeting in Sunnyside that drew about 100 people, many of whom were affected by the Dry Creek Complex Fire.
The Senate bill, approved on Monday, would make firefighters who step in to fight wildfires to protect people or property on “no- man’s lands” immune from civil liability.
“When the Silver Dollar Cafe burned down, there were firefighters present on the scene, but none of them stepped in to fight the flames, because it was outside of their district,” Honeyford said in a news release.
“There are many areas in this state that lack the safeguard of belonging to a fire protection district. The people in those areas need our help; this bill addresses that vital need.”
His proposal, Engrossed Senate Bill 6462, now moves to the House for consideration.
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