January 29, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 18 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H1272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FIRE SAFETY REMAINS A DIRE ISSUE

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remind people, that 
although it is wintertime, a rainy season, a stormy season, that we are 
still in a dire circumstance on fire safety in our forested areas, 
California, of the West, and many areas of the United States.
  So for us to just be comfortable during the wintertime, during the 
rainy season and not think about it would be in error. We need to do 
much to catch up on the forest inventory we have across this country, 
across the West.
  That will require USDA, the U.S. Forest Service, our States, our 
local governments, Tribes, and everybody to be able to coordinate much 
better than we have in the past to reduce this fuel load, this 
inventory we have in our forests that makes it so dangerous when fire 
season comes around once again.
  We have seen that with so many devastating fires in the West, just 
this year in my own district, the Carr fire in the Redding area, and 
the Camp fire in the Paradise area.
  Many factors go into what causes these fires, but we can at least be 
proactive in thinning our Federal forests, thinning the material that 
needs to come out of there, putting people back to work doing that, 
using this material for biomass, generating electricity, and the wood 
and paper products that we all need and enjoy.
  We need to move fast-forward on the pace and scale of what it takes 
to make our forested areas fire safe, healthy, good for the economy, 
and good for all of us.

                          ____________________