Western states are getting a $63 million assist from the federal government to protect their communities from the devastation of wildfires, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports.
Colorado, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming will use the funds to "expand wildfire barriers, known as fuel breaks, to protect communities and firefighters across the West," the USDA states in a May 4 news release.
"Fuel breaks slow a fire’s spread, create a safe zone for firefighters to work, and a safer place to conduct hazardous fuel reduction treatments like prescribed burns."
The projects are expected to improve firefighter response, create jobs and protect community infrastructure, natural resources, clean drinking water, and local timber and rural economies, according to the release.
Funded projects were identified through a cross-boundary process that brought together Tribes, local wildland fire managers, business owners, elected officials and scientists to plan for future fires, the release reports. The process supports the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy and complementary fuel-treatment efforts. The best available science about fire operations and risks to communities, ecosystems and responders will be used to ensure that the projects are effective, according to the news release.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the news release that USDA Forest Service scientists and experts in risk management developed, tested and improved the creation of "defensible spaces" before a wildfire threatens.
Scientists at the National Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station began work in 2015 with federal agencies, states, research universities and independent land and resource management partners to identify fire barriers as part of overall wildfire strategies, the release states. It was found that barrier reinforcement and adjacent fuel break construction helps reduce risk of high-severity wildfires outside of the initial 21 Wildfire Crisis Strategy landscapes.
"With climate change fueling the wildfire crisis," Vilsack said in the release, "we are investing in this work through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda on an even larger scale as one of the many actions we are taking to protect the people and communities we serve."
