Statement by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
on the Wildfires Burning Out of Control in the West
August 4, 2000

“The worst fire season in over a decade is upon us, scorching more than 3.7 million acres of forests throughout the west, including 73,000 acres in the Sequoia National Forest and 5,200 acres in the Cleveland National Forest in Riverside--and it is only the beginning of the fire season.

These wildfires underscore the need for the Forest Service to change its forest management policy and undertake an expedited program of removing the combustible fuels lining California’s forest floors, which become tinder during forest fires.

In the Senate, we have set aside $240 million in emergency funds as part of the Interior Appropriations bill to address the build-up of fuel on forest service and other federal lands. It is imperative that the Senate-House conference committee retain this important provision so that funding for fuels removal is made available as soon as possible.

Despite this Congressional funding, I fear that this pattern of fuels build up and catastrophic fire will continue until the Forests Service changes its policy and systematically reduces the fuels accumulated during more than 50 years of inadequate forest management.

The Forest Service predicts this will be the most severe fire season since 1988. These fires will cause millions of dollars of damage to private property and destroy millions of acres of wildlands, possibly including habitat of the endangered Spotted Owl. Already, four firefighters have been injured, and it is estimated that the cost of suppressing this year’s fires could exceed $1 billion.

It is time that the Forest Service reevaluate its policy on fuels reduction and take steps to protect America’s forests from catastrophic fires.”