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Dear Friend,
May is National Wildfire Awareness Month, and as Oregonians, we know just how important it is to prepare for fire season.
(P.S. Make sure to forward this newsletter to one person so they have these resources!)
Climate change has affected our state's weather. Year after year, winters have grown warmer and drier, creating the perfect conditions for catastrophic fire seasons. That’s why we must do everything possible to protect our communities, forests, and your homes.
I remain deeply concerned about this year's conditions and the growing wildfire risk. In March, I wrote to the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Interior, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to warn about the heightened risk of blazes. I urged the agencies to take every possible step to prepare for, monitor, and mitigate this year's wildfire season.
Wildfire season comes right as President Trump gutted vital staff and released a budget proposal for next year reducing funding for the Forest Service while making sweeping reorganization changes that shut down 57 research facilities, including one right here in Oregon. This massive restructuring could affect up to 7,000 agency workers. Oregonians know better than anyone else that we cannot afford to lose Forest Service staff, research capacity, and funding that help protect our communities from deadly blazes.
I also expressed my concerns with Chief Tom Schultz of the United States Forest Service about severe staffing losses, deferred trail maintenance, and the growing inability of ranger districts to maintain backcountry trails across the Pacific Northwest. I asked him how the U.S. Forest Service plans to maintain trails filled with dry, flammable vegetation ahead of wildfire season while navigating severe staffing reductions.
The bottom line: President Trump’s decisions could limit our ability to deploy wildland firefighters to the frontlines during peak fire season.
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Just this week, I received a briefing from the Forest Service about the upcoming wildfire season. Officials stressed that this year’s low snowpack has created drought conditions, contributing to a longer, more severe fire season. Without federal support, our state agencies lack access to the funding and tools to combat these dangerous fires. Our communities must be prepared because this is shaping up to be a long and tough summer.
Funding cuts to the Forest Service would mean that fewer qualified, trained personnel would be hired to conduct trail maintenance and that we will need civilians to help volunteers to fill the gap. This raises serious concerns about our preparedness and capacity heading into fire season.
I’m going to take what I learned at the briefing back to Washington D.C., and I’m going to keep pushing for the resources, coordination, and preparedness that Oregonians deserve. When it comes to wildfires, preparedness is the difference between being ready and being overwhelmed.
Visit wildfire.oregon.gov/prepare to sign up for safety alerts and learn more about how you can do your part to prepare for wildfire season. Take a moment this week to sit down with your family to plan and prepare if you need to evacuate.
I will keep working to make sure that our brave firefighters have the tools needed to safely and effectively put out wildfires. I will keep continuing to press the Trump Administration for answers and hold them accountable when they fail our families.
Be well,
Andrea Salinas
Member of Congress
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