September 9, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 143 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H7551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DEVASTATING FIRES AFFECTING THE WEST

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, during our August recess, we had a very 
successful trip to the Tahoe area looking at some of the work that has 
been done following the Angora Fire some years ago for recovering our 
forested areas and doing the types of thinning and management that 
needs to be done to make our areas much more fire-safe and sustainable 
into the future.
  This has been a very successful and bipartisan effort. Senator 
Feinstein, as well as our local Members of the House, had support of 
this work. And we are at that time of year again--devastating fires 
affecting the West, affecting my own district in California right now. 
The one known as the Walker fire is burning our national forest in 
Plumas County--people are being displaced, having to desperately move 
their cattle out of the area.
  And a lot of good work is being done. A lot of dozers are up there, a 
lot of aircraft are going. But why do we have to do this year after 
year after year? We should be managing our assets--the people's 
assets--our national forest--in a way that makes it fire-safe, it makes 
the habitat safe for the wildlife that is there. And later on, all the 
negative effects you have from all the ash and all the things that get 
into the streams, you have negative water quality. We need to be much 
more proactive.
  Madam Speaker, there are 44,000 acres burning in my district right 
now, just on that one Walker fire and the fear people have to put up 
with, and the loss of wildlife.
  We have to do much more. We need the Forest Service to be empowered 
with the tools to get this work done.

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