"Washington state will impose a fire-resistant building code in high-risk areas. Wildfire-prone areas are being excluded, some say."

"A swath of eastern Washington just scorched by highly destructive wildfires is exempt from a new, fire-resistant state building code that will take effect in a few months for at-risk areas, according to a POLITICO analysis.

A draft state wildfire map shows that the area where more than 900 buildings were recently destroyed or damaged and 65,000 residents evacuated is outside high-risk zones that will be subject to protective building standards.

The exclusion of the devastated area — and almost all of surrounding Spokane County — raises fears that Washington’s novel effort to minimize fire damage underestimates the state’s fire danger. The three adjacent Spokane wildfires that started Aug. 1 were among the most destructive in Washington history and have cost more than $30 million to suppress.

“They’re not as useful as they could be,” said Dave Kokot, a former president of the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals who has advised on the map development."

Chelsea Harvey and Saqib Rahim report for E&E News August 17, 2026.