Brea, CA – U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39), who serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, hosted Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (AR-04) for a roundtable and tour of wildfire and mudslide prone areas with first responders on the front lines of preventing, detecting and containing wildfires.
Reps. Kim and Westerman were joined by Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Division Chief Tim Perkins, OCFA Division Chief Scott Wiedensohler, Brea Fire Department Interim Chief George Avery, U.S. Forest Service Region 5 Director of Fire and Aviation Management Jaime Gamboa, U.S. Forest Service Angeles National Forest Supervisor Ray Torres and Cal Fire Riverside Unit Chief/ Riverside County Fire Chief Bill Weiser.
“Wildfires threaten the health and safety of our Southern California communities. That is why hearing firsthand from those battling wildfires on the front lines at all levels is critical to inform our work in Congress,” said Rep. Kim. “Ranking Member Westerman is a leader in improving management of federal lands, and I thank him for joining me to visit with local, state and federal first responders, from fire departments to our U.S. Forest Service, and tour disaster-prone areas in my community. I look forward to working with him and my colleagues to make our communities more resilient and ensure our first responders have the resources they need.”
“The catastrophic wildfire crisis remains an enormous threat to lives, property and vast swaths of our western landscapes, which is why I was so grateful to join Congresswoman Kim to view areas prone to wildfires and mudslides. Our roundtable meeting was eye-opening as we discussed the ways House Republicans can continue directing federal agencies to improve public land management and mitigate wildfire risk long-term. Congresswoman Kim is a faithful advocate for wildfire management policies that protect the lives and livelihoods of her constituents and I’m glad I had the opportunity to see these sites in person,” said Ranking Member Westerman.
Photos from the Office of Congresswoman Young Kim can be found here.
Rep. Kim hosted a roundtable last year with local, state and federal stakeholders and has introduced and supported bills to help first responders and expand community resources to address wildfires such as:
- The bipartisan NIST Wildland Fire Communications and Information Dissemination Act (H.R. 6410), which would boost communications and information sharing efforts between first responders, fire management response officials and community members during wildfires;
- The Resilient Federal Forests Act (H.R. 4614), which would provide targeted, streamlined forest management reforms to protect the environment and allow land management agencies to increase the pace, scale, cost and efficiency of forest management projects;
- The Trillion Trees Act (H.R. 2639) to conserve, restore and plant one trillion trees worldwide to enhance forest resiliency and reduce emissions; and,
- The FIRE Act (H.R.5010) to focus assets within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on wildfire forecasting and detection and improve the technology used to execute this mission.
Rep. Kim also secured resources to support the City of Chino Hills’ fuel reduction project and to supply the Yorba Linda Water District with an additional heli-hydrant to fight wildfires in our area.
