2-13 IAT Wildfire Suppression

David Sparks Ph.D.

Bill would end 'fire borrowing' and ensure resources available for hazardous fuel removal. Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson and Oregon Congressman Kurt Schrader recently introduced legislation to make common sense changes to the federal wildfire budget.  The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, aims to end the destructive cycle of robbing non-fire accounts in order to pay for wildfire suppression when costs exceed an agency's wildfire budget. Spokesperson Nikki Watts "Congressman Mike Simpson has seen firsthand where good forest management practices, like removing hazardous fuels, have made the difference between a manageable fire and total devastation. It costs less, both in taxpayer dollars and in lost lives and property, to prevent wildfires before they start than to fight them once they are out of control.  Yet the way we currently budget for fire has created a devastating cycle of fire borrowing that is costing taxpayers and destroying our forests." In recent years, Congress has budgeted for wildfire suppression by appropriating money according to the average cost for wildfires over the past ten years, known as the "ten-year average."  When costs exceed an agency's fire budget, that agency is forced to borrow from non-fire accounts to pay for fire suppression.  Robbing these accounts means that the Forest Service and other land management agencies have fewer resources available for forest management activities like hazardous fuels reduction that would prevent catastrophic fires.  As a result, fires get worse and wildfire suppression costs end up devouring the agency's budget. As fire seasons have grown longer and more destructive, fire borrowing has become regular practice instead of an extraordinary measure.  In eight of the past ten years, the Forest Service has exceeded its wildfire suppression budget.  At the same time, the proportion of the agency's budget devoted to wildland fire management has risen from 13% in the early 1990's to 41% in 2013.