Washington issues emergency proclamation to waive rules, provide immediate aid to wildfire survivors

Governor Bob Ferguson said the state has signed an amended emergency proclamation to accelerate assistance for people and businesses affected by the fires. "On the morning of Saturday, August 1, I signed an emergency proclamation that implemented a burn ban across Washington State through September," Ferguson said, adding that the amended declaration "waives and suspending certain state laws during the emergency."

The governor outlined measures for individuals: free replacement of driver's licenses, ID cards and vital records at a disaster assistance center; extensions for professional and business license renewals; expanded eligibility for State Individual Assistance (including the uninsured); and suspension of the one-week unemployment waiting period and job-search requirement for those displaced by the fires. He also said the proclamation prohibits eviction-related actions for two weeks except where there is an immediate health or safety risk or in narrow owner-occupancy notification cases.