Washington DC – This week, Representative Young Kim (CA-40) joined Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) to introduce the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023.
This bipartisan bill ensures that federal, state, local and tribal firefighting agencies can use fire retardant, a vital tool used to contain or slow the spread of wildfires, without restraints from burdensome permitting regulations.
With peak fire season approaching, wildfire-prone communities’ safety and billions of dollars of infrastructure would be at risk if fire retardants are not readily available for use in the 2023 fire year.
“We need all hands on deck and all the tools in our arsenal during a wildfire,” said Rep. Kim. “Fire retardant has proven to be safe and effective for containing and mitigating wildfires, and I’m proud to join Reps. LaMalfa and Panetta to ensure its continued use. As the representative of many wildfire-prone areas, including in the canyon communities of Orange County, I will keep fighting to support commonsense policies to protect our communities.”
“Fire retardant is an essential tool in wildland firefighting, especially in the West. Not only is it absurd to try to take away that tool, it’s flat out dangerous. These regressive environmentalists are scared that a little bit of fire retardant could get into our rivers while we’re fighting another million-acre fire. But they care nothing about the forests burning down, people and animals fleeing for their lives, and the land covered in ash. Pollution from even larger fires will not only harm fish, but the air pollution will choke vulnerable people up to hundreds of miles away,” said Rep. LaMalfa.
“Wildfires present an imminent danger to our communities in California and our firefighters need to be equipped and ready to fight them,” said Rep. Panetta. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure fire retardant remains a critical tool in our firefighting arsenal for the 2023 fire season. Protecting our communities and forests is paramount.”
You can learn more about this bill HERE.
