Where There’s a Blaze There’s a Bush

Posted on October 24, 2007 in Disasters

Here’s the grim news about how this came to be:

On Tuesday, the Senate’s leading Democrat — Harry Reid of Nevada — said the administration has for years shortchanged funding for prevention efforts to remove the dead trees and shrubbery that provide the fuel for the fast moving blazes….

Reid suggested that the administration failed to heed the lessons of the 2003 wildfires that destroyed some of the same areas of San Diego County that are burning again.

After those fires, Congress authorized up to $760 million a year for “fuel reduction” efforts to clear away dead trees and other combustible material. But only about two-thirds of that — about $500 million — has been provided through the annual budgetary negotiations between the White House and Congress, congressional aides said.

“We have fought for years during this Bush administration to have money for wildfire suppression,” Reid said. “It takes effort to prepare the landscape so that these fires don’t burn the way they have been….That’s what wildfire suppression legislation and [federal] money is all about.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-Calif.), who chairs a key funding subcommittee, said, “There is no question that fuel reduction has been under-funded. … In virtually every session, we’ve had to fight for additional money … and I’m prepared to fight again.”

Feinstein also told the Senate that the disaster will be a critical test for FEMA. The biggest challenge could well come after the fires are put out, when the agency will steer residents and business owners to federal programs that can help them rebuild.

While [Jerry] Lewis (R-Calif.) did not criticize the administration, he agreed that the government needs to put a higher priority on prevention. “When we have disasters of this size, the dollars seem to flow on call, but it is more difficult getting continuing dollars to manage the forests long-term,” Lewis said in a floor speech. “We need to continue to address those long-term needs and not allow the current crisis to reduce that effort.”

The federal funds for clearing away dead trees are meant to be spent on federal property, and most of the fires this time are on private and state lands. Nonetheless, Congress may decide in the future to provide some support for state and local efforts.