U.S. to spend additional $490 million to prevent wildfires

Robert Besser
24 Jan 2023, 13:11 GMT+10

The Biden Administration announced this week an additional expenditure of $490 million to combat the growing threat of wildfires in the western US
Authorized by last year's Inflation Reduction Act, the move comes after massive wildfires ravaged North and South America, Europe, Australia and parts of Asia in 2022
In 2022, the Biden administration announced a 10-year plan to treat and maintain millions of additional acres of forests in the western US to ease the severity of seasonal blazes

WASHINGTON D.C.: The Biden Administration announced this week an additional expenditure of $490 million to combat the growing threat of wildfires in the western US.

Authorized by last year's Inflation Reduction Act, the move comes after massive wildfires ravaged North and South America, Europe, Australia and parts of Asia in 2022, which were driven by warmer and drier weather, according to scientists.

"It is no longer a matter of if a wildfire will threaten many western communities in these landscapes, it is a matter of when. The need to invest more and to move quickly is apparent. This is a crisis and President Biden is treating it as one," said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Controlled burns and the removal of dead wood and vegetation in forest in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington would be funded by the extra money, Vilsack added.

In 2022, the Biden administration announced a 10-year plan to treat and maintain millions of additional acres of forests in the western US to ease the severity of seasonal blazes, with some $440 million being provided by the Infrastructure Act of 2021.

The US Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture, manages some 2 million acres in the western US.

According to US government statistics, in 2022 wildfires burned more than 7.5 million acres in the US, causing billions of dollars in damage.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Francisco Star.

More Information

56 ℉

Mostly Cloudy in San Francisco

United States

Section

Jonathan Quick gets best of old team as Rangers top Kings

(Photo credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports) Jonathan Quick made 25 saves in his first start against his former team as ...

Many contributors directing Nets into clash with Kings

(Photo credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports) The Brooklyn Nets hope to demonstrate on the road what they displayed at home ...

Capitals get 2 goals from Nic Dowd in win over Blackhawks

(Photo credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports) Nic Dowd scored twice to help the visiting Washington Capitals defeat the Chicago Blackhawks ...

Kawhi Leonard, Clippers aim to keep rolling against Trail Blazers

(Photo credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports) On a three-game winning streak to match their longest of the brief James Harden ...

PTM member lambasts Pakistani military, says 'will continue our struggle until release of Manzoor Pashteen'

Geneva [Switzerland], December 11 (ANI): Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) member Fazal-ur-Rehman Afridi lambasted the Pakistani military establishment for trying to ...