June 18, 2021 3:20 a.m.

On Thursday, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden sounded the alarm on wildfire season during a Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the U.S. Forest Service annual budget.

Wyden said every person in the west knows another catastrophic wildfire season is coming.

Wyden said, “This year in the West we could be looking at the prospect of multiple fires, big ones at the same time”. Wyden asked U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen for the agency’s plan for resources sharing when there are multiple severe fires across communities in the west.

Christiansen said a 21st century workforce, equipment and technology are needed. She said some progress has been made, with a modernized air tanker fleet. Christiansen said, “We are making some steps forward with our limited capacity of resources, with advancing technology. We need more of a year-round workforce but…our system is at a breaking point”.

A release said Wyden requested a written statement from the Forest Service on its plans to cover all the dangers associated with another expected catastrophic wildfire season in the west, as well as USFS plans for wildfire resiliency efforts like hazardous fuels reduction.

A link to the video of the committee hearing is posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=799NyjGVn1I