News
Wildland Fire Update
The 2008 wildfire season is proving to be a formidable challenge for firefighters. Still early into the season, fires have raged in Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, and California, where they continue to cause destruction. More than 2,000 fires have occurred in California since June 20, of which 33 are still active. Thousands of firefighters are battling the blazes that as of July 20 have destroyed 947,151 acres and 123 homes. Robert Roland, a volunteer firefighter from the Anderson Valley Fire Department in Northern California, also died as a result of fighting the fires.
Last year, the United States Forest Service spent more than $1 billion, approximately half of its overall budget, on fire suppression. The Department of the Interior’s fire suppression costs have risen from a 10-year average of $108 million in 1995 to $294 million today.
In hopes of curbing the cost of wildland fire suppression, Congressman Nick Rahall II (D-WV) introduced the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement or FLAME Act (H.R. 5541) on March 6. The Senate version of the FLAME Act was introduced as S. 3256 by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on July 11. The FLAME Act would provide a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on federal lands, while also requiring the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy. The bill was passed in the House on July 9 and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for consideration.
Small volunteer fire departments are frequently the only option for responding to a wildland fire in its early stages. Unfortunately, these departments often lack the financial resources to equip and train their firefighters to levels recommended by voluntary national consensus standards. Without an effective initial response, wildfires spread and state and federal firefighters are deployed, at great expense to the government.
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) continues to work with Congress to promote funding for the Rural Fire Assistance (RFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grant programs, which give local fire departments the tools to provide wildland fire suppression services. Volunteer fire departments located in rural areas serving 10,000 people or less are best positioned to suppress wildland fires in the early stages, limiting the need for state and federal responders and saving taxpayer dollars in the long run.
In FY 2006, RFA was funded at $10 million and VFA was funded at $14 million. Since then, VFA has held steady at its original funding levels while RFA has been reduced to $6 million. The NVFC continues to encourage an increase in funding for both programs.
Wildland fires are a serious and growing problem facing the nation’s fire service. The NVFC will continue to work with Congress to seek the necessary funding to ensure volunteers are properly equipped and trained to help fight, and minimize the damage from, these devastating fires.
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Kimberly Ettinger
Director of Communications
202-887-5700 ext. 19
David Finger
Director of Government Relations
202-887-5700 ext. 12