President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on Thursday aimed at enhancing wildfire prevention and response efforts across the country, with particular import to California’s Sierra Nevada region.
Among other elements, the order eases rules for preventative prescriptive burns and elevates the use of fire retardants to stop wildfires from becoming deadly.
Driving the news: Trump’s executive order, signed Thursday afternoon at the White House, directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to consolidate their wildland fire programs in an effort to streamline operations and improve coordination.
- The order also supports local wildfire preparedness and response by strengthening federal partnerships and driving responsible land management practices at the state and local levels, while calling for the utilization of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, data sharing, innovative mapping, and weather forecasting, to bolster state and local wildfire identification and response capabilities.
- Along with easing rules for prescriptive burns and encouraging fire retardant use in wildfire situations, the order promotes the innovative utilization of woody biomass and other forest products to reduce fuel loads, miminizing wildfire ignition risks.
- Trump’s order also directs the Pentagon to prioritize the sale of excess aircraft and aircraft parts to support wildfire mitigation and response efforts.
What they’re saying: “Trump’s executive order is a breath of fresh air,” Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig said in a statement. “As a Supervisor, I have been a proponent of proper forest management and fuel reduction. Which is why Fresno County has been one of the top recipients of grants to remove hazardous trees along our roadways in the Sierra.”
- “The Creek Fire, Palisades, and other recent disasters have showed us the importance of efficient coordination between federal, state, and county lands. I look forward to working with both federal departments, the state, and our local government to ensure this is implemented as effectively and quickly as possible,” he said.
