wildfire

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, and John Barrasso (R-WY), Ranking Member of the ENR Committee, introduced the Promoting Effective Forest Management Act of 2023. This bipartisan legislation would reduce catastrophic wildfire risk and improve forest health.

Congressman Tom Tiffany’s (WI-07) bill, H.R. 1567, the Accurately Counting Risk Elimination Solutions (ACRES) Act, passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives almost unanimously.

The Washington State Department of Revenue is offering help to businesses and property owners impacted by the recent wildfires in Washington state.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is urging large animal owners to closely monitor their animals during these challenging times.

It may be cold with snow on the ground, but the U.S. Forest Service is already looking to the fire season ahead.  Oregon’s ongoing drought, more frequent heatwaves and less rain and snow, mean longer and more intense fire seasons.   “The h...

2022 will go into the books as the third-costliest year for weather disasters in U.S. history.  The estimated total economic losses reached $165 billion.  New analysis by American Farm Bureau economists shows extreme weather caused more than $21 billion in crop losses.     A...

Four western senators introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires across the region.  The Wildfire Emergency Act, introduced by Oregon’s Ron Wyden, California senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla as well as Montana’s Steve Daines would allow the Forest Service to leverage private financing to accelerate forest restoration projects and create a program

The Oregon Department of Forestry was scheduled to release the next draft of the controversial Wildfire Risk Map in March, but that has been put on hold, thanks to action by state lawmakers.  Under 2021’s Senate Bill 762, ODF was charged with the creation of the map, but the first draft that was released in August proved so unpopular statewide, the Department pumped the breaks for another six mont

The Washington state Department of Natural Resource will hold two free workshops next month for contractors interested in working on fuel reduction projects with private landowners.  And DNR noted, such projects may be eligible for DNR cost share funding.    ...

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources announced this week it is expanding its wildfire response team across the state.  DNR will add 60 positions, including hand crews, heavy equipment operators and more.  Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz says these new positions, made possible by House Bill 1168, won’t be limited to a wildfire fighting role, they’ll also be trained to do f