OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The leader of Washington state’s wildfire response is calling on federal agencies to take the additional step of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations among wildland firefighting forces to secure the country’s wildfire response capability.

State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz sent a letter Monday to U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and also called for the deployment of federal resources to make vaccinations available at all fire camps on federal land.

She says the state mandate alone will not fully protect firefighters from the spread of COVID-19 given the increased fire danger and deployment of federal firefighters across the U.S. West.