Fire Funding Partner Caucus Sends Letter to US Senators
Fighting wildfire is taking up half of the US Forest Service budget. Today, the Partner Caucus on Fire Suppression Funding Solutions, which includes SAF, sent a letter to several US Senators outlining what should be done.
Historically, the need for transfers of funding from non-fire programs has limited the ability of the Department of the Interior and USDA Forest Service to suppress wildfires without impacting budgets of other fire prevention and management programs. Of more concern is how the increasing ten-year average for wildfire suppression has exacerbated this funding problem. Longer fire seasons, increasing development in the wildland-urban interface, and growing fuel loads are among the many factors that contribute to wildfire suppression costs.
Read the letter below.