June 10, 2022 3:00 a.m.

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden pressed U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore on how the agency plans to use the money secured for wildfire in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address the critical shortage of permanent wildland firefighters and make sure Oregon and the entire west are prepared for what is expected to be another catastrophic wildfire season.

A release said at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Forest Service budget, Wyden also called for better pay and benefits for firefighters.

Wyden said, “Oregonians were telling me last week everywhere I went that the shortage of permanent wildland fire positions, if not addressed, in on its way to becoming a four-alamer”. Wyden said already in Oregon there is a twenty percent vacancy rate in these positions and western states are borrowing firefighters from each other. He called it “…a recipe for trouble”.

During the hearing, Wyden asked how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding he supported is being used for hazardous fuels treatment and other prevention projects in Oregon and nationwide.

Wyden said, “Millions of acres of dead and dying materials is piling up on the forest floor. This material is a magnet for fire. These fires are not your grandfather’s fires – they’re bigger, they’re hotter, they’re more powerful. We’ve got to reduce the backlog of prevention work”.

A video of Wyden’s comments at the hearing are linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cGKxK3cTmg