Maria Cantwell defends funding to prevent wildfires
In a recent hearing for the
The forecast says there's an above-normal potential for larger fires in
"You get my attention any time the map basically targets
Christiansen affirmed Cantwell's assertion, adding that of the 60 large wildfires in
"Particularly on the western part of the state," Christensen added, "that is very unusual this early."
In the hearing, Cantwell said she wanted to assure that money set aside for wildfire risk reduction --
"Can you basically assure me that that's going to happen? That you're going to spend fuel reduction money that
A big piece of risk management comes down to hazard fuel reduction, or selectively thinning vegetation that, left unmanaged, could potentially lead to more devastating forest fires.
Released in March, Trump's 2020 budget preserved funding for hazard fuel reduction but recommended cuts to other fire prevention programs.
The president's proposed budget isn't binding. Rather, it's a declaration of his priorities, and a starting point for
"In preparing this budget, the 2020 budget, we followed the instruction of this administration in reducing, at whole, by 5 percent. We made some tough choices and forest treatments -- to improve forest conditions and hazard fuels -- was the highest priority," Christiansen said. "As you know, that meant other programs were reduced."
"We are not going to wait, and I assure you we are going to invest those funds in the most critical places in the highest risk," Christiansen told Cantwell.
Released earlier this month, the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook indicated the potential for above-normal fire activity in southern
Snowpack can help ease the fire risk, as a slower-melting snowpack means that high-elevation areas stay inflammable later into the season.
Already, some early warm spring weather this year has sparked a few small fires around
Looming heavy in
Last year saw
In
"We might not have been the epicenter of the fires as much as
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