Perdue: How Can USDA Help Firefighters?

A rash of wildfires started in and around Los Angeles in December. More than two dozens separate fires burned over 300-thousand acres, destroying homes and businesses.  This month, in the nearby Angeles National Forest, fire suppression and prevention experts are training, getting ready for the fire season to come.  Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Purdue, visited them Wednesday.

"How we in Washington can give them tools they need to do even a better job?"

Purdue says one major thing he's pushing for in Congress is a separate budget for fighting the big fires.

"So we don't have to borrow money, and spend it on fire suppression, where we could be using it on forest management to prevent forest fires. We came really close in the balanced budget act in February of getting the funding done."

Purdue said he's not giving up until it is done.

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