Sen. Cantwell says weather service cuts could rain trouble on Washington state

Sen. Cantwell says weather service cuts could rain trouble on Washington state

Joshua McNichols

John Ryan

June 05, 2025 / 2:09 pm

The federal government plays a major role in predicting weather and fighting wildfires.

Experts say the Trump administration's job cuts to the National Weather Service could hurt those efforts.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell pulled a fire alarm of sorts on Tuesday: She said President Trump's cuts to the National Weather Service will put rural communities in Washington at risk during the upcoming fire season.

In a press conference, Cantwell held up a map. It showed the risk for fires in Washington state this summer. Nearly the whole state was covered in red, indicating above-normal fire risk.

“If you have very high wind events, the challenges that we ar