Zinke Issues Memo on Fire Prevention Steps

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has directed Interior Department staff this week to be more proactive on fire prevention, a move also requested by the Montana Farm Bureau.  As Montana is battling wildfires, the Montana Farm Bureau President said there needs to be a better focus on preventing and putting out wildfires.  The comments come the same day as Zinke’s.

He says the focus includes hiring contractors if necessary to clear dead trees, removing vegetation away from roads and buildings that could prove quick fire fodder and to include fire prevention in resource management planning, according to Politico.  In the memo to department staff, Zinke said: “Fuel management is more effective when undertaken before fires break out.”

To date, 47,700 wildfires have burned more than 8 million acres across the country, with much of the devastation in California, Oregon and Montana.

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