Congress Set To Vote On A New Way Of Fighting Wildfires

NOTE: This story will be updated throughout the day.

For years, Western lawmakers have been trying to change the way we fight wildfires, or at least the way the government funds such work. Now, they may finally get that wish. Congress is set to vote on that change as part of its new spending deal.

When something like a hurricane or flood hits, response money comes from emergency management budgets. But when a disastrous wildfire hits, money often come straight from the Forest Service. This can drain funds meant for other things, including work to prevent wildfires in the first place.

In 2017, the Forest Service spent about $2.4 billion fighting fires. That’s half of the service’s total budget.

“And it’s been that way over the last 20 years,” says Senator John Tester of Montana. “Every year, more and more dollars are coming out of the Forest Service to fight fires because our summers are getting hotter and drier, there’s just no doubt about that.”

The current system is called “fire borrowing” because it requires the Forest Service to take money destined for other purposes. Tester and other legislators on both sides of the aisle want to create a wildfire disaster fund of about $2 billion dollars per year over the next decade.

“It allows us to treat wildfires as a natural disaster, which is what they are. Treat ‘em just like tornadoes or hurricanes, floods -- whatever it may be -- and not robbed from the Forest Service budget,” says Tester.

Congress is set to vote on the change as part of its new spending deal. The deadline is Friday at midnight.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

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