May 20, 2022 10:25 a.m.

Amid warnings about potentially difficult wildfires in the months ahead for Oregon and the west, on Thursday U.S. Senator Ron Wyden pressed U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to use newly available wildfire management funds provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and urged her to work with local communities on wildfire response plans.

At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the federal Interior Department’s budget, Wyden asked specifically about the additional resources he and the other senators secured in the legislation.

Wyden said “Our rural communities are looking at this as a lifeline”. He asked Haaland how and when the wildfire management funds could be used for targeted thinning, prescribed burns in the cooler and wetter months, and hazardous fuels treatment. Wyden said, “Everything we’re seeing…is another very ominous fire season”.

Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, also cited the need to increase pay for wildland firefighters.

A video link with Wyden’s questions and Haaland’s responses is linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FvnR39T9g0