Senate panel advances Wyden legislation to increase pace, scale of prescribed burns, improve smoke management

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Tuesday applauded the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee for advancing his bipartisan National Prescribed Fire Act to support prescribed burns during the colder and wetter months as an essential, science-based strategy proven to save lives and property. 

“Today’s vote takes us much closer toward my goal of stopping wildfires before they devastate communities in Oregon and nationwide,” Wyden said. “With wildfires hitting record highs in my state and our country, prescribed fires are a must to save lives and our treasured lands, homes, and businesses. I will continue working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure this proven approach to improving forest health is used to maximum effect across the country.”

Wyden’s National Prescribed Fire Act would invest in hazardous fuels management to reduce the risk of blistering infernos by increasing the pace and scale of prescribed  burns during cooler, wetter months. The legislation would also create a technically skilled prescribed fire workforce, and improve smoke management to reduce catastrophic fires and harmful smoke in the summer. Wyden’s legislation builds on investments made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, that included $500 million of combined funding for the Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to plan and conduct prescribed fires.

In addition to the prescribed burns legislation, the ENR Committee today also cleared two additional Wyden bills – Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement Act and Watershed Results Act – that would help communities respond to severe drought in the Klamath Basin and improve watershed health and resilience in other river basins across the West.