President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a number of measures to help fight against intensifying wildfires in the western part of the country, The Hill reported.
"We know this is becoming a regular cycle and we know it’s getting worse," Biden said in a briefing with western governors. "The truth is, we’re playing catch-up. This is an area that’s been under-resourced, but that’s going to change if we have anything to do with it," adding that he fires are "a problem for all of us" and "right now we have to act and act fast."
Biden said that as a sign of the seriousness with which he views the problem, his administration would conduct briefings at the beginning of the wildfire season every year.
"Wildfires are not a partisan phenomenon," he said. "We need a coordinated, comprehensive response … and we want to know what you, the states and localities and tribal governments, those on the frontlines, are facing in this danger, and what you think would help the most."
A key feature in the measures the president emphasized was boosting the minimum wage for federal firefighters to $15 an hour, having called the current $13 wage "ridiculously low," HuffPost reported.
Biden also said his administration is working on making more federal firefighter positions permanent rather than seasonal, "so that when fires aren’t burning, we have a workforce of experienced hands enhancing our forest management, reducing the risks of future fire seasons," according to The Hill.
Other measures planned to fight the wildfires is a bolstered air capacity, with a White House budget request including more than $30 billion for wildfire management and relief and a 62% increase in funding to treat hazardous fuels.
The president announced the measures amid a historic heat wave in areas of the West and Pacific Northwest, which has exasberated drought conditions that often lead to wildfires.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), the wildfires have burned at a rate of about 4,000 fires above average between January 1 and the end of June, even though the total acreage burned is lower than compared to a decade ago.
The White House added in a release that every year since 2015 there has been an increase of approximately 100 large wildfires.
Biden earlier cited the soaring temperatures as evidence of the increasingly prominent impacts of climate change.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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