Oregon’s Bentz Says More Needs To Be Done To Prevent Wildfires

Eastern Oregon's Cliff Bentz said the Beaver State has 30-million acres of forest at risk of wildfire.

"California has 33-million acres of forest," Bentz recently noted during a House Committee hearing.  "Washington has 23-million acres of forest. And the time for fiddling here in Congress while the west burns is over."

He supports the bipartisan FIRE Act, which aims to rollback air quality regulations, to allow more prescribed burns.  Bentz told that House Committee last week mitigation efforts are needed to prevent catastrophic fires.

"When they start you cannot put them out. And that’s because we haven’t removed the literally millions of tons of excess fuel from our forests that’s built up over the last 80 or 100 years."

Bentz said the bill also reduces regulatory burdens on manufacturers and communities.

Click Here to learn more about the FIRE Act.

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