Feinstein urges U.S. to cover fire funds
SEN. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover a nearly $40-million shortfall in Forest Service funds to protect Southern California communities from forest fires.
“The recent ... wildfires remind us that catastrophic fires like those of October 2003 will return to Southern California’s four national forests,” Feinstein says in a letter sent Oct. 18 to Mark E. Rey, who oversees the Forest Service for the USDA.
The Forest Service office in California says it needs $46.4 million to remove dead brush and trees in San Bernardino, Angeles, Cleveland and Los Padres national forests.
The current budget provides 16% of the funds for fuel reduction.
“There’s a lot of dead brush in Southern California’s national forests from the years of drought, and no amount of rain is going to bring dead brush back to life,” says Forest Service spokesman Matt Mathes.
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Scott Doggett
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