Impact of Catastrophic Fires on Agencies' Budgets

Impact of Catastrophic Fires on Agencies' Budgets

It’s no surprise to the those of us in the Pacific Northwest that due to escalating costs of fighting wildfires Federal agencies are being forced to rob the budgets of other important functions to pay those costs.
Deputy Forest Service Chief Jim Hubbard tells a Congressional panel about preparations for what could be a very difficult fire season.
Hubbard: “We will probably be spending more on suppression than we have in the budget. When we don’t have the suppression dollars to pay the bills, then we have to take it out of other accounts in the Forest Service to do so.”
According to information released by USDA earlier this week on a state by state basis, the impact last year to the Pacific Northwest states is notable. In Washington, more than $380,000 in improvements were deferred. In Idaho, seven improvement projects were delayed. And in Oregon, more than $2 million worth of projects were deferred due to fire suppression costs eating up other budgets.
The President's FY15 Budget proposed a new approach to addressing wildfire suppression costs which would set aside an emergency fund, similar to emergency funds already available for other natural disasters, to cover costs for the most catastrophic of wildfires.  
The wildfire season is 60-80 days longer and burning twice as many acres as compared to three decades ago. In the early 1990s, the Forest Service spent less than 15 percent of its budget on fire suppression. Today the agency spends 40 percent or more for fire suppression. 

 

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