Congress Must Fund Wildfire Prevention in California

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(TNS) — Northern Californians watched the Los Angeles-area fires in sympathetic horror, knowing all too well the devastation brought by these disasters. The Camp Fire in November 2018 took almost everything from so many in Butte County, and it’s unbearable to see others experience the same devastating losses.

Wildfires are often viewed as a Northern California issue: the Park Fire last July — the fourth largest fire in California’s history — burned in the same counties as the infamous Camp, North Complex and Dixie fires. Northern California also battled the CZU Lightening Complex, August Complex, Valley, Tubbs and Caldor wildfires. When we say we have great empathy for our neighbors in Southern California, we truly mean it.

Witnessing the devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires only strengthened our resolve to protect our state through robust prevention and forest management practices.

Fuel breaks — the strategic removal of dense and flammable vegetation and debris — create “safe zones” for wildland firefighters, allowing them to get closer and more safely fight wildfires. This buffer between the encroaching wildfires and developed communities or critical infrastructure provides valuable time to evaluate and improve our efficiency in mitigating wildfires before they spread to surrounding areas.

This summer, CAL FIRE utilized the California Department of Transportation and Sierra Pacific Industries’ fuel breaks to combat the Park Fire, which proved essential to stopping the wildfire before it jumped Highway 32, protecting communities in Butte Meadows and Forest Ranch. In San Diego County, fuel breaks maintained by the California Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management slowed the progression of the Grove 2 Fire, allowing for easier control of the wildfire and improved coordination efforts between firefighting agencies.

Thankfully, in December, Congress passed into law an emergency disaster funding bill that includes $75 million to implement new and maintain existing shaded fuel breaks on U.S. Forest Service land in California, where this work is urgently needed. We urge the Forest Service to ensure this funding is utilized in California without delay.

These funds, however, cannot be treated as a one-time solution. To effectively safeguard communities and landscapes in our region, we urge Congress to establish annual appropriations dedicated to the creation and maintenance of fuel breaks. These fuel breaks are a proven tool to reduce wildfire spread and severity, but their success depends on consistent investment for both their establishment and upkeep. By committing to long-term funding, Congress can ensure these measures remain a reliable and sustainable defense against the growing threat of wildfires.

To expedite projects like fuel breaks and prescribed burns, federal agencies should increase their use of tools to streamline the permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act. For example, federal agencies have the option to “categorically exclude” fuel break projects and prescribed burns from the need to undertake lengthy environmental analyses — avoiding years of potential delay while undertaking critical fuel break work and prescribed burns on the ground.

Historically, these streamlining tools have been underutilized. With the increasing severity and frequency of wildfires, accelerating the permitting process is critical to protecting our ecosystems and forests in a timely manner.

Congress has made strides on the matter, including the ability of the Forest Service to treat wildfire prevention projects as emergencies, meaning they can expedite fuel reduction projects similarly. This helps expedite fuel reduction projects on federal and private lands, creating a network of fuel breaks capable of slowing down and even stopping volatile wildfires — and providing a layer of defense to vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

Investing in wildfire prevention measures like fuel breaks helps protect and preserve the communities we live and work in. If utilized quickly, efficiently and strategically, the $75 million in fuel break funding will benefit our communities and landscapes for decades to come.

Matt Dias is president and CEO of the California Forestry Association. Doug Teeter is the District 5 Supervisor for Butte County.