July 14, 2021 3:10 a.m.

On Tuesday, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led a bipartisan group of 13 of his senate colleagues, including Senator Ron Wyden, in pushing leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to include robust funding in the fiscal year 2022 funding bill for the National Guard to support wildland firefighting efforts in communities across western states.

Merkley said those states are already facing severe drought and wildfires.

A release said there are currently more than 12,200 firefighters and support personnel, including members of the National Guard, battling 59 major wildfires in western states including Oregon.

The letter from lawmakers said, “In 2020, the West experienced severe drought, which resulted in some of the driest conditions on record. More than 50,000 major wildfires burned 10 million acres with fires lasting well into the fall, destroying homes, businesses and critical infrastructure”.

The lawmakers said as the country struggles to adapt to longer and more severe wildfire seasons, additional resources to train members of the National Guard is critical.

A full text of the letter is linked: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/21.07.09%20FY22%20National%20Guard%20Wildfire%20Training.pdf