Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 17 august 2018
U.S. vows to work more closely with states to fight wildfires

scenic valley in North-
ern California reopened
Tuesday after a 20-day,
smoked-forced closure,
and hundreds of people
were evacuated from Gla-
cier National Park in Mon-
tana after a wildfire de-
stroyed at least nine homes
and cabins in one of the
park's historic districts.
In Washington state, mean-
while, officials have distrib-
uted masks to combat un-
healthy air filled with smoke
from wildfires that have
blanketed the Northwest.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,
said the current crisis un-
derscores the importance
of preventing wildfires. "It
is unacceptable to me to
have Northwest seniors and
young people being afraid
to open their doors in the
morning because they are
afraid of smoke," he said.
Longer and hotter wild-
fire seasons are the "new
normal," said Sen. Maria
Cantwell, D-Wash., "and we
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, joined at right by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., discuss ways have to meet it with a very,
to improve the health of the forests and how to reduce wildfires, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. very aggressive response"
Associated Press that includes drones, satel-
lites and other technology.
By MATTHEW DALY derbrush and set controlled forest-fire health crisis in White House. Not all efforts will be popu-
WASHINGTON (AP) — As fires to remove trees that this country, and the ur- "This is unacceptable lar, Cantwell said, noting
wildfires choke California serve as fuel for catastroph- gent need to dramatically that year after year we're that some Seattle-area resi-
and other Western states, ic blazes, including a series increase our preventative watching our forests burn, dents opposed controlled
the Trump administration of deadly fires that have forest treatments." our habitat destroyed and burns this spring because
pledged Thursday to work spread through drought- While officials have boost- our communities devas- they feared the smoke.
more closely with state and parched forests and rural ed forest management ef- tated," Zinke added. "And "I guarantee you now, Se-
local officials to prevent communities in California. forts in recent years, more it is absolutely preventable. attle would definitely take
wildfires from ever starting. Six firefighters have died in needs to be done, Perdue Public lands are for every- a little bit of smoke instead
Agriculture Secretary Son- those wildfires. said. "To truly protect our body to enjoy and not just of the eventual, all-sum-
ny Perdue said the Forest Perdue, who toured the forests, we must increase held hostage by these spe- mer-long smoke that we're
Service and other agencies California fires this week, the number and the size of cial-interest groups." getting," she said.
will step up efforts to cut said they were "stark re- our (prevention) projects Zinke has long complained Perdue and other officials
down small trees and un- minders of the immense across the local landscape that environmental "ex- said the focus on preven-
and across boundaries, tremists" make it difficult for tion could save money,
and frankly we can't do this trees to be logged to re- noting that federal wildfire
by ourselves," Perdue said duce fire risk. costs approached a record
at a news conference at "Whether you're a global $3 billion last year. "There's
the Capitol. warmist advocate or de- no quick fix," Perdue said,
Perdue pledged a "shared nier, it doesn't make a dif- but increased collabora-
stewardship" approach in ference when you have tion could eventually save
which the Forest Service, rotting timber, when hous- money or at least "get more
Bureau of Land Manage- ing prices are going up ... done with the same costs."
ment and other federal yet we are wasting billions Congress earlier this year
agencies work with state, of board feet" of timber created a wildfire disaster
local and tribal officials to that could go to local lum- fund to help combat in-
fight and prevent wildfires. ber mills, he said. creasingly severe wildfires.
Interior Secretary Ryan The focus on wildfire comes The law sets aside more
Zinke, meanwhile, said na- as California and other than $20 billion over eight
tional forests have suffered states face longer and years to allow the Forest
from "gross mismanage- more destructive wild- Service and other federal
ment" for decades. fire seasons because of agencies to end a practice
"The fuel loads are up. The drought, warmer weath- of raiding non-fire-related
density of our forests is his- er attributed to climate accounts to cover wildfire
torical. We have dead and change and homes built costs.
dying timber," Zinke said at deeper into forests. The plan takes effect in Oc-
a Cabinet meeting at the Yosemite National Park's tober 2019.q