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  • Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Governor Gregoire successfully completes fire safety test

For Immediate Release: June 9, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today met the safety qualifications preparing for the 2008 fire season in Washington. This is the fourth year the governor has earned these important safety credentials that allow her to visit wildland firelines. In 2005, she became the first Washington governor to complete the test.

To complete the test, the governor walked a mile in under 16 minutes, and earned a �red card� by successfully completing the work capacity test. She was also trained to deploy fire shelters and demonstrated proficiency with that skill. Personnel from the Resource Protection Division of the Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) implemented the test and training.

�All Washingtonians should be vigilant and take steps to prevent fires,� said Gregoire. �Exercising caution while enjoying our beautiful state can only help diminish our fire season and keep our firefighters safe.�

Doug Sutherland, commissioner of public lands, was on hand to brief the governor about last year�s fire season and the outlook for this summer. He also recently completed the safety test and earned a �red card.�

Since January, DNR has already suppressed 52 fires that have burned nearly 800 acres on DNR-protected lands. The greatest fire risk is expected later in season due to a cool wet spring and delayed snowmelt. Many wildland fires are started by human-related causes such as escaped debris burns.

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