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Rep. Costa, Federal and State Agencies Work Together to Bolster Efforts to Suppress Wildfires in California

June 2, 2016

Fresno, CA — Today, Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) released the following statement after meeting with federal and state agency leaders to discuss ways to continue and expand efforts to address the millions of dead trees in California. In addition to Rep. Costa, the meeting had over 40 participants including: Randy Moore, Pacific Southwest Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service; Chief Ken Pimlott, Director, CAL FIRE; and Jeff Lusk, Mitigation Division Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region IX.

“The extremely dry conditions in California’s forests pose a serious threat, and state and federal agencies must continue to work together to reduce the impacts of catastrophic wildfires,” said Rep. Costa. “Today’s conversation with federal and state agency leaders was productive, and I applaud the efforts that are already being made by the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, FEMA, and local agencies. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation, and I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress and the Administration to increase federal support to deal with fires that could have a devastating effect this summer. Governor Brown’s effort last fall to declare a state of emergency and create the Tree Mortality Task Force is to be commended. Today, our workshop heard from members of the task force on efforts to suppress wildfires in California and ways we can improve upon those efforts. Congress must pass legislation that will provide more resources to clean up our forests and fight these devastating wildfires.”

"We appreciated Congressman Costa holding this workshop to highlight the challenges of this emergency, as well as his effort to expand the response," said Chief Ken Pimlott, Director of CAL FIRE.

According to the United States Forest Service, since 2010, an estimated 40 million trees have died in California’s national forests due to the unprecedented and ongoing drought, bark beetle infestation and high tree densities. An estimated 29 million trees died in 2015 alone, which was the driest of the four years of drought currently affecting California.

Rep. Costa is a cosponsor of H.R. 167, the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act. The legislation would end the disruptive practice of fire borrowing and ensure that the way we budget for fires makes sense by moving funding for fighting the truly disastrous wildfires to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As a result, adequate funding for both wildfire suppression and forest and land management practices that help to reduce the impacts of catastrophic wildfires in the future will be provided.

In October 2015, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency and established the Tree Mortality Task Force.

In May, FEMA awarded the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection almost $13.7 million for wildfire suppression and structure protection.

For more information on tree mortality visit www.PrepareForBarkBeetle.org.