Quantcast
Channel: Summit County Citizens Voice » Tom Tidwell
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9

Cabinet members push for wildfire budget changes

0
0
gulchfire-1

Firefighers working at the scene of a wildfire near Keystone Colorado in 2011. 

Wildfire season outlook means the Forest Service may once again have to scrounge for firefighting money from other funds

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Despite plentiful spring moisture in the central U.S., top federal officials warned that parts of the West could still see a potentially disastrous wildfire season, especially in the far West and the northernmost Rockies.

This summer’s wildfire season could be a repeat of last year, when the biggest fires burned in Oregon and Washington, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said during a press briefing in Denver.

“It’s very wet and green out here right now,” said Interior Secretary Salley Jewell. “But we know we’re facing another potentially severe and dangerous fire season, and we know without a doubt it’s exacerbated by climate change,” Jewell said, explaining that the damage can quickly add up to millions of dollars, and the environmental damage can take years or decades to repair.

Tidwell said the interior part of the West will likely dry out to face normal wildfire conditions, but continued drought in California is setting the stage for catastrophic fires.

Based on projections for this wildfire season, Tidwell said the Forest Service is once again likely to exceed its firefighting budget by at least $240 million this year. And that means the agency will have to borrow money from other programs to cover the difference.

Pending legislation in Congress would help address that gap by recognizing that wildfires should be treated like other natural disasters in terms of federal spending, but the House budget committee didn’t see it that way when it passed a spending bill that maintains the status quo.

“It’s disappointing that the committee didn’t understand what’s in play here,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Congress can’t have it both ways, coming to us in September and October and saying they want more restoration and preventive work … when they won’t give us the funds to to do that,” he said.

The outlook for the fire season means it’s likely the agency will have to borrow $200 million from restoration and resiliency fund, which hampers work to make forests less prone to disastrous fires.

“We can only hope that Congress finally wakes up to the fact that we are just one or two fires away from having to borrow from other funds again this year,” he said, calling on firefighters and others who are affected by wildfires to reinforce to Congress the need to change the way firefighting funds are allocated.

Sec. Jewell said there’s good alignment on both sides of the political aisle for those changes in key states affected by fires. The challenge is convincing the rest of Congress, she said, adding that the administration will pursue legislation to that effect outside the budgeting process.

“Most of these fires are started by lighting strikes, there’s no doubt these are natural disasters, just as much as floods or hurricanes,” she said, adding that federal lawmakers need to recognize that in their political decisions.



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images