FEMA agency picks Sacramento and Boise to announce strategies for wildfire prevention
Ahead of wildfire season, the leader of the U.S. Fire Administration and officials from other national fire organizations will be visiting California’s and Idaho’s capital cities.
Their tour next week to discuss discuss fire prevention and control strategies also includes Colorado Springs, Colorado. The locations were selected, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy M. Edwards, because, like Colorado Springs, Sacramento and Boise are having high impacts from wildfires.
All three cities are located in wildland-urban interfaces — areas where a heavily-populated environment sits near nature that faces risk of catastrophic fires.
The Fire Administration, a subdivision of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will discuss wildfire challenges and solutions based on a report compiled after the U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control. Held last October, the summit brought together governmental officials, fire service leaders and scientists.
Issues included recruiting and retaining personnel to fight fires, firefighter health, water access and the severity of fires near population centers.
Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, the U.S. Fire Administrator, said the global conditions have sparked extreme fires in areas that previously did not have them. Effective response to wildfire risk requires public participation to make their homes more resilient. That includes having communities near forested areas remove potential fuels by buildings and install ignition resistant roof coverings, vents, windows and fences, she said.
“We need individual homeowners and residents to take actions to keep their homes fire safe so that you have every chance to escape injury or death when a fire occurs,” Moore-Merrell said. She added, “Fire is everyone’s fight.”
Moore-Merrell will also preview in Sacramento a prize competition from the nonprofit XPRIZE Foundation, called the Wildfire Technology Prize Competition. The competition, which will focus on wildfire detection and suppression technologies, will officially launch in Washington DC after the trip.
Funding from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities can help communities prepare for wildfires, heat waves, drought, floods and other natural hazards. Increased funding comes as part of an injection from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Our mission to build resilience in these communities is even more critical as the wildland urban interface continues to expand,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who said climate change was increasing fire-friendly conditions.
Federal officials and heads of organizations working on fire issues will meet with local leaders in Boise on Tuesday, Colorado Springs on Wednesday and Sacramento on Thursday.
Edwards added these areas were picked to highlight the importance of interagency coordination.
Boise is home to the National Interagency Fire Center which serves as a coordination hub to fight wildfires.
Sacramento houses the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CAL OES), “one of the largest state agencies that deals with wildfire prevention, mitigation, response and recovery.”
The Fire Administration and FEMA are just some of the federal agencies working on wildfire issues in the West. The Forest Service, part of the USDA, is charged with fighting fires on lands it oversees. Local, state and federal officials work in tandem on fire prevention and suppression strategies.
The Biden administration made issues related to climate change and infrastructure a priority, pushing through measures such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to allocate funds to agencies working on environmental issues and wildfire solutions.
