OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – With wildfires intensifying in the Pacific Northwest over the last decade, government agencies are taking action.

The Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) and US Forest Service announced last week they’re partnering with other state and federal agencies to manage the risks of wildfires in the PNW.

According to a DNR release, deeming wildfires as a health crisis and addressing them as such requires realigning both air quality and land management goals. The DNR said that the increased wildfires have posed significant risks to public health, especially in vulnerable communities. Increased human development in fire-prone areas and a warming climate are also contributing factors to the fires according to them.

Strategies to combat this include increasing prescribed burns in both scale and frequency and increasing related outreach to nearby communities. Two pilot projects will come from the collaboration – one in North Central Washington and another in West Bend, Oregon.

Agencies and departments participating in the collaboration are the USDA Forest Service – Region 6, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 10, Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Health, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Health Authority.