What Residents Should Know About Emergency Service Funding in Skagit Fire District 8
Emergency services are something most of us don't think about until we need them. When that call comes, we expect firefighters and paramedics to arrive quickly with the personnel, equipment and training needed to help. Maintaining that level of service, however, requires funding that keeps pace with community needs.
Skagit County Fire District 8 provides fire suppression and emergency medical services to approximately 10,500 residents in and around Lyman, Hamilton, Highways 9 and 20, and surrounding unincorporated areas. The district receives about 1,100 calls each year, and demand for service has increased. Since 2019, call volumes have risen nearly 58 percent.
Like many public agencies, Skagit 8 is facing the combined effects of increasing demand and rising costs. Expenses for firefighter safety gear, fuel, utilities and emergency equipment have all increased. At the same time, state funding laws limit how much revenue a fire district can collect each year without voter approval, even as property values rise.
To help meet emergency response needs, Skagit 8 contracts with the City of Sedro-Woolley to cover areas that are not adequately served by current stations. The cost of that contract increased from approximately $362,000 in 2024 to nearly $568,000 in 2025. Additional staffing would help reduce reliance on outside coverage over time and keep more emergency service resources within the district.
The district is also planning for the replacement of aging emergency apparatus. Three fire engines and two water tenders are approaching the end of their service lives. As emergency vehicles age, maintenance costs increase and replacement parts become harder to obtain, creating challenges for reliability and response readiness.
To address these challenges, Skagit 8 is asking voters to consider a fire levy lid lift on the August ballot. If approved, the measure would restore the district's fire levy rate to $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value—the same rate approved by voters in 2019. For the owner of a home assessed at $300,000, the estimated cost would be about $9 per month, or $108 per year. Funding would support hiring two additional full-time firefighters, reducing reliance on contracted coverage and continuing to save for replacement emergency apparatus.
Residents who would like additional information can visit skagitfire8.org/levy-information (http://skagitfire8.org/levy-information) and are encouraged to watch for public Q&A sessions scheduled in July. These meetings will provide an opportunity to ask questions and hear directly from district leadership.
