The SHB 1539 study and recommendations must include:
- Coordination and alignment of state and Department of Natural Resources’ wildfire property mitigation standards with nationally recognized, science-based wildfire mitigation standards;
- Enhancement of wildfire mitigation at the community level;
- Data sharing between state agencies and the insurance industry to address wildfire mitigation gaps and best practices;
- Improvements to consumer transparency related to wildfire hazard and risk; and
- Establishment of a grant program to help residential properties resist wildfire loss.
The recommendations are due to the Legislature by December 1, 2025.
Work group meeting agendas, materials, and recordings
July 1, 2025 meeting
- Time: 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
- Topic: Benefits of mitigation and introduction to Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety wildfire mitigation science
- Dr. Lars Powell, Director, Center for Risk and Insurance Research, Culverhouse College of Business, University of Alabama
- Steve Hawks, Senior Director for Wildfire, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
- Agenda for July 1 meeting (PDF 154.94KB)
- Recording for July 1 meeting
- Dr. Lars Powell presentation (PDF 9.07MB)
- Steve Hawks presentation (PDF 17.92MB)
- Stream the July 1 meeting on TVW
July 8, 2025 meeting
- Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
- Topic: Addressing Department of Natural Resources' existing wildfire property mitigation standards and additional wildfire mitigation efforts at the community level
- Guy Gifford, Assistant Division Manager, Community Resilience Program, Department of Natural Resource
- Megan Fitzgerald, McGowan- Program Manager, Firewise USA, National Fire Protection Association
- Keegan Fengler, Program Manager, Washington Fire Adapted Communities
- Reese Lolley, Strategy and Partnerships Director, Washington Resource Conservation and Development Council
- Keegan Fengler and Reese Lolley presentation (PDF 4.29MB)
- Megan Fitzgerald presentation (PDF 8.41MB)
- Guy Gifford presentation (PDF 13.45MB)
- Recording for July 8 meeting
- Stream the July 8 meeting on TVW
July 15, 2025 meeting
- Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
- Topic: Wildfire risk scores as used by the insurance industry
- Steve Brooks, Executive Director, Washington Association of Fire Chiefs
- Karen Collins, Vice President, Property & Environment, American Property Casualty Insurance Association
- Firas Saleh, Director of Product Management, Moody’s RMS
- JulieAnna Anastassatos, Vice President, Wildfire, Verisk
- Bryan Rehor, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Zesty.ai
- Please register in advance
- Stream the July 15 meeting on TVW
July 22, 2025 meeting
- Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
- Topic: Data sharing with state agencies and wildfire risk assessment
- Joanne Pearson, State Geographic Information Officer, Washington Technology Solutions
- Matthew Dehr, Lead Wildfire Meteorologist, Department of Natural Resources
- Shelby Flanagan and Michelle Fredrickson, Spatial Epidemiologists, Department of Health
- Frank Frievalt, Director, Wildland-Urban Interface FIRE Institute, California Polytechnic State University- San Luis Obispo
- Please register in advance
- Stream the July 22 meeting on TVW
July 29, 2025 meeting
- Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
- Topic: Developing a wildfire mitigation grant program for residential properties
- Steve Crowder, Mayor, Town of Paradise, California
- Kimiko Barrett, Sr. Wildfire Research & Policy, Headwaters Economics
- Chief Frank Bigelow, Deputy Director, Community Wildfire & Preparedness & Mitigation, CAL FIRE
- Brian Powell, Catastrophe Risk Resilience Specialist, Center for Insurance Policy and Research
- Please register in advance
- Stream the July 29 meeting on TVW
October 2025 meeting to be determined.
Materials
Community wildfire resilience resources
- Department of Natural Resources wildfire ready neighbors program
- Fire adapted communities learning network's guide to demystifying insurance with a focus on wildfire losses
- Community wildfire protection plans
- Washington's 10-year wildland fire protection strategic plan
- Wildfire ready neighbors overview video
International Association of Fire Chiefs
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) mitigation results
- 2024 Texas A&M Windstorm Market Incentives Study – Resilient Structures Final Report
- Performance of IBHS Fortified HomeTM construction in hurricane sally (PDF 5.55MB)
Studies on cost to retrofit homes to be wildfire-resistant
- Construction costs for a wildfire-resistance home
- The cost of retrofitting a home for wildfire resistance
- Building wildfire-resistant homes after disasters will save billions
Wildfire mitigation
- National Institute of Standards and Technology - Fire Hazard Mitigation Methodology (PDF 15.10MB)
- IBHS wildfire prepared home technical standards (PDF 6.42MB)
- IBHS brochure (PDF 1.59MB)
- IBHS video on how embers ignite a home
- Guide to retrofitting a home for wildfire protection
- Sustainable Defensible Space guidance
- Firewise USA recognition program (PDF 828.39KB)
Wildland Urban Interface Code
Questionnaires and surveys
Questionnaire one - initial work group survey
- Review questionnaire one (PDF 65.70KB)
- Take questionnaire one
- Responses from questionnaire one (XLSX 34.99KB)
- Summary from questionnaire one (PDF 136.04KB)
Questionnaire two - July 1 meeting follow up survey
- Review questionnaire two (PDF 142.88KB)
- Take questionnaire two
- Responses from questionnaire two (XLSX 23.84KB)
- Summary from questionnaire two and July 1 meeting (PDF 129.00KB)
Questionnaire three - July 8 meeting
Comments
- To submit comments or questions contact Policy and Legislative Affairs.
Members and participants
| Name | Title | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Name Patty Kuderer | Title Commissioner | Organization Office of the Insurance Commissioner |
| Name Dave Upthegrove | Title Commissioner | Organization Department of Natural Resources |
| Name Bryon Welch | Title Deputy Commissioner | Organization Office of the Insurance Commissioner Designee |
| Name Robyn Whitney | Title Strategic Advisor to the State Forester | Organization Department of Natural Resources Designee |
| Name Michael Newman | Title General Counsel | Organization Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety |
| Name Steve Brooks | Title Executive Director | Organization Washington Association of Fire Chiefs |
| Name Brian Allen | Title Chief Risk Officer | Organization Grange Insurance Association, Insurance Industry |
| Name Kenton Brine | Title President | Organization Northwest Insurance Council, Insurance Industry |
| Name Shannon Marbet | Title Director | Organization AAA Washington, Insurance Industry |
| Name Coron Polley | Title Agency Partner | Organization The VIP Agency Chelan, LLC, Insurance Industry |
| Name Chandra Fox | Title Deputy Director | Organization Spokane County Emergency Management |
| Name | Title | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Name Shelly Short | Title Senator | Organization Senate Republican member |
| Name Andrew Engell | Title Representative | Organization House Republican member |
| Name Rebecca Saldaña | Title Senator | Organization Senate Democratic member |
| Name Kristine Reeves | Title Representative | Organization House Democratic member |
| Name JulieAnna Anastassatos | Title Vice President of Wildfire | Organization Verisk Underwriting Solutions |
| Name Angela Bishop | Title Owner | Organization Bishop Design PLLC, Washington Rural Landowner |
| Name Korrie Bourn | Title Agency Principal | Organization The VIP Agency Winthrop |
| Name Jennifer Coe | Title Forest Health & Community Wildfire Resilience Coordinator | Organization Washington State Conservation Commission |
| Name Tim Cook | Title State Hazard Mitigation Officer | Organization Washington Military Department, Emergency Management Division |
| Name Tony Craven | Title Member | Organization Washington Farm Forestry Association, Small Forest Landowner |
| Name Lance Dahl | Title Deputy Fire Chief | Organization City of Spokane, Washington State Association of Fire Marshals |
| Name Michael DeLong | Title Research and Advocacy Associate | Organization Consumer Federation of America |
| Name Mark Donnell | Title Fire Commissioner | Organization Chelan Fire & Rescue, Washington Fire Commissioners Association |
| Name Angela Doss | Title Senior Director State Government Relations | Organization Nationwide Insurance |
| Name Melissa Gannie | Title Assistant State Fire Marshal | Organization State Fire Marshal Office |
| Name Ron Gibbs | Title Insurance and Risk Management Manager | Organization Chelan County Public Utility District, Public Owned Utility |
| Name Johnathan Goldsmith | Title Deputy Building Official | Organization City of Spokane, Washington Association of Building Officials |
| Name Steve Hawks | Title Senior Director for Wildfire | Organization Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety |
| Name Jon Hedegard | Title Legislative and Regulatory Counsel | Organization Allstate Insurance |
| Name Mary Hull-Drury | Title Government Affairs Director | Organization Washington REALTORS®, Real Estate Industry |
| Name Elizabeth King | Title Energy Resilience & Emergency Management Director | Organization Department of Commerce |
| Name Hilary Lundgren | Title Program Officer | Organization Resources Legacy Fund, Non-Governmental Organization |
| Name Vern Malensky | Title Director of Electrical Engineering | Organization Avista Corporation, Investor-Owned Utility Representative |
| Name Kurt Morgan | Title AVP & Chief Risk Officer | Organization Capital Insurance Group |
| Name Tim Onken | Title P&C Analyst | Organization State Farm Insurance |
| Name Reggie Peone Jr. | Title Emergency Manager | Organization Spokane Tribes of Indians |
| Name Brian Quill | Title Emergency Management Coordinator | Organization Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation |
| Name Blake Rowland | Title Property Product Manager and Wildfire risk management lead | Organization Progressive Insurance |
| Name Brent Schmitten | Title President | Organization Mitchell, Reed, & Schmitten Insurance, Inc |
| Name Mark Sektan | Title Vice President | Organization American Property Casualty Insurance Association |
| Name Andrea Smiley | Title Legislative Director | Organization Building Industry Association of Washington |
| Name Melanie Thurlow | Title Senior Public Affairs Officer | Organization Liberty Mutual Insurance |