Congress fails to act on wildfire funding
Congress still has not taken action on the President’s request for $615 million to be put into a fund to pay for wildfires. Having this money up front could prevent the federal land management agencies from being forced to rob money from unrelated accounts in order to pay firefighting bills. And with their 5-week vacation beginning on July 31, it is unlikely our elected representatives will do anything before the second week in September at the earliest.
Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said, “The [land management] agencies have a big pile of money already. I don’t think there’s an urgency on the money part.”
Cost of Washington wildfires
Officials in Washington estimate that the cost of suppressing wildfires in their state so far this year as been $50 million. About half of that went to the Carlton Complex fire, at a cost of over $23 million. These figures do not include loss of property or damage to infrastructure. The Carlton Complex burned about 300 homes and heavily damaged the power grid in the Methow Valley.
Public service announcements featuring Disney’s movie, Planes: Fire & Rescue
Disney is joining the Ad Council, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Association of State Foresters to launch a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) featuring scenes and characters from Disneytoon Studios’ animated film Planes: Fire & Rescue. The PSAs are an extension of the Wildfire Prevention PSA campaign, featuring the iconic Smokey Bear, who celebrates his 70th birthday this summer. For more information on Smokey Bear and the Wildfire Prevention campaign visit: www.SmokeyBear.com.
Bob G., While I don’t think we are quite talking apples to apples, I will agree sometimes fire costs look high in California. Not near the $50 mil. per fire you suggest, but with the WUI here, and the continuing drought conditions, I think California does a good job. To state there is something wrong with that picture leaves a lot to suggest. Would you care to expound on where you think they’re doing it wrong? In my career, I have had the opportunity to fight fire in many different states, for many different agencies, and each and every one had their policies and issues that dealt with costs. But I’m always game to learn where to do better. And yes, I have fought fire in WA., but I didn’t do it any differently in getting the job done safely and cost effectively. Maybe it is just a matter of who counts the beans?
“Cost of Washington wildfires” Actually pretty cheap compared to California.. one fire in Ca can exceed that $50 million easily! And yes, there is something wrong with that picture!