Inslee orders wildfire training for National Guard personnel

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has directed the state's National Guard to train up to 250 guard members to help fight summer wildfires.


Inslee on Monday asked the guard to train personnel with the state Department of Natural Resources to help extinguish blazes. Some Guard members completed similar training for the first time last year, and battled the Kettle Complex fires in Eastern Washington.

The state in April approved spending around $190 million from its emergency fund to help pay for the costs of last summer's record-setting wildfires. The fires burned about 1 million acres in Washington.