As the threat of wildfires continues to grow, lawmakers plan to take action this week with a vote on significant legislation that seeks to reduce wildfire threats in and around national forests. The main sponsor of the bill said he’s increasingly confident of its prospects.
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said Friday that he believes at least three Democrats on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee will support his “Fix Our Forests Act,” S. 1462, which would speed forest-thinning projects and help communities prepare for wildfire.
The panel is considering it Tuesday along with a handful of other measures including small land conveyances, exchanges and designations affecting national forests.
The effort in the Senate comes at a time when wildfires have become more frequent and deadly, a result most scientists blame on a warming planet. The House earlier this year passed its own version of the bill, H.R. 471, with 64 Democrats voting in support.
