WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmen Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Mark Amodei (NV-02) have introduced H.R. 4208, the Wildland Fires Act of 2017, to better prepare for and prevent costly wildfires. This bill is the companion to the recently introduced Senate bill by the same name.

Thompson said the Wildland Fires Act proposes commonsense, bipartisan measures to help prevent future, widespread wildfires

“This legislation would do that by directing federal agencies to identify communities at high risk of wildfires, and provide them with the fire preparation and prevention assistance they need. Giving these communities the resources they need to prepare for and prevent wildfires is a no-brainer and will help save money, property, and lives in the long run,” Thompson said.

“I look forward to working with my neighbor from the West side of the Sierras to educate my colleagues from flood, tornado, tropical storm and hurricane regions about the effects of wildfire in the West and elsewhere in our nation,” Rep. Amodei said.

The Wildland Fires Act of 2017 will help further the Federal and State firefighting agencies’ “National Cohesive Fire Strategy” by authorizing additional funding for at-risk communities and directing Federal agencies to treat their most-at-risk forests to better protect communities and to reestablish natural fire regimes.

This bill:

– Directs the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to provide up to $100 million in funding to at-risk communities to plan and prepare for wildfires;
– Establishes a pilot program that directs the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to treat their top 1 percent most-at-risk, least-controversial lands over the next 10 years (and in doing so install fuel breaks in the wildland-urban interface and, outside of the WUI, conduct prescribed fires);
– Authorizes longer-term contracts to provide stability to companies involved in restoration projects on Federal land, and gives a preference for companies that will use forest products to create mass timber, e.g., cross-laminated timber; and
– Authorizes the Federal agencies to repurpose unused wildfire suppression funds to conduct preparedness projects to get ahead of the problem.

Congressman Mike Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.