Commentary: WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 3, 2017) – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M) joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and several Western Senators in strongly urging President Donald Trump and Senate leaders to include funding for wildfire disaster response in the next disaster aid package.
The letters to the President and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were also signed by Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
The Senators wrote, “As we continue to assist Texas, Puerto Rico and other parts of the country recover from damage caused by hurricanes so must we assist in the recovery of western states scorched by wildfire. It is critical to include additional disaster relief funding in the next aid package to help our communities recover and provide the Forest Service with additional resources to repair lands and infrastructure damaged by wildfire and reduce the threat of future wildfires.”
Specifically, the Senators called for $200 million in funding for the Forest Service to restore and repair public lands and infrastructure damaged in this year’s natural disasters. They also called for a $580 million investment in thinning and other forest management to reduce fire-prone fuels and get ahead of future fires before the U.S. faces another devastating fire season.
"On Forest Service land alone, 78 million acres are designated as moderate to high risk of severe wildfires,” the Senators noted. “If we do not act quickly to fund the treatment of fire prone areas, the costs to fight and recover from these extreme fires will continue to grow.”
Senator Heinrich continues to be a leading advocate for passing a long-term fix to the problem of “fire borrowing,” in which the Forest Service must rob funds from other programs—including fire prevention—to pay for the cost of fighting fires in bad fire years.
The letters also calls for this fix. The full text of the letters to President Trump can found below and here.