February 1, 2023 9:50 a.m.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden was joined by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla of California and Steve Daines of Montana on Tuesday to introduce the Wildfire Emergency Act, a bipartisan bill that the lawmakers say will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in the west.

A joint release said the bill recognizes that the threat of wildfire is an emergency for the American west. Among the bill’s provisions include allowing the U.S. Forest Service to leverage private financing to accelerate forest restoration projects, creating a program to ensure critical facilities maintain power during wildfire disruptions and expanding a weatherization grant program that would help low-income households fireproof their homes. The legislation would also establish a prescribed fire-training center in the west.

Wyden said, “To address the threat of catastrophic wildfires in the West an all-of-the-above approach is needed”. This means making essential upgrades to keep the lights on when disaster strikes and giving communities the firefighting workforce and latest technology required to get fires under control”. Wyden said the bill prioritizes mitigation work now to prevent wildfires from turning into the megafires that destroy lives and property. Wyden said, “The climate crisis is here and the West needs more support”.

A detailed release is linked: https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=DCE7C7DB-06C7-41E4-8690-5B2BB12BCE48’