Western Governors Seek Funds for Fire Management

WASHINGTON, DC, July 17, 2002 (ENS) - The governors of Western states swept by wildfires this season are urging Congress to allocate emergency supplemental funding to the Forest Service and Department of the Interior for wildland fire management.

Montana Governor Judy Martz (Photo courtesy University of Montana)

“The 2002 fire season is likely to be one of the most devastating and costly in recent decades, and it has yet to reach its peak,” Martz reminded the senators.

“Without diminishing environmental protection, we also need efficient and effective processes to get the job done,” she said. “Unnecessary delay, once consensus has been reached on projects to meet our goals, will cost us dearly in terms of dollars, resources and possibly lives.”

Firefighters made good progress yesterday by containing nine large fires, while five new large fires were reported in Oregon and South Dakota, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. Initial attack crews across the country were successful in putting out nearly 230 fires.

Western governors are asking for continued substantial funding in fiscal year 2003 to pay for community assistance in rural communities trying to protect homes, businesses and watersheds.

They are requesting funding for restoration work to improve forest ecosystem health and to rehabilitate burned and unburned areas so they regenerate in a way that reduces the risk posed by future fires.

And Martz requested funding for the State Fire Assistance program, which provides technical and financial assistance to states and local governments to enhance firefighting capabilities.

California Governor Gray Davis (Photo credit unknown)

Governor Gray Davis Monday directed the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) to dispatch 15 fire engines to help fight a 10,000 acre wildfire in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near Mono County at the California-Nevada border. Three hundred residences and 125 outbuildings and commercial properties are threatened.

The governor was responding to the U.S. Forest Service request for "immediate need" strike teams. This fire, which has now consumed 8,600 acres is 30 percent contained.

"The dry weather conditions that have plagued the western United States over past few years have made both our states vulnerable to wildfire," Governor Davis said. "It is critical that we provide this assistance to our neighboring state."

Deer take refuge in the Bitterroot River as fire engulfs the Montana forest on all sides. August 2000. (Photo by John McColgan courtesy NIFC)

“Western Governors believe that over time, with continued substantial up-front investment, we can significantly reduce the damage caused by wildfires, protect lives and property, and improve the health of our landsm" she said. "It has taken more than 100 years to reach the current situation of extreme fuel loads on our federal, tribal, state and private lands, and it will take a multi-year investment of time, money and on-the-ground work to address it.”

Nearly twice as much acreage has been burned this year than the 10 year average. To date this year 3,459,577 acres have gone up in smoke, while the 10 year average acreage stands at 1,618,597 acres.