Drought and Wildfires in California

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the devastating wildfires that are sweeping throughout the Western States and, particularly, in much of California.

Last week, we had over 22 wildfires at one time that were in various parts of California. Because of the incredible 4 consecutive dry years, what once was a seasonal issue now seems to be year round.

Obviously, the drought conditions facing California played a big role in the ability to manage these wildfires, and the devastation that has occurred as a result of that has been great.

These last 4 years have been among the driest 4 years we have had, climatologists say, in 1,200 years in California and in the Western States.

Over 70 percent of California is facing what is considered to be extreme and exceptional drought conditions, which are among the highest categories that you can face under drought conditions.

California is not new to managing wildfires. It is part of living in that State as well as in other Western States, but these dry conditions over the last 4 years have made it worse; therefore, we need to try to figure out different ways to address this.

The Rough fire in Fresno County, which is part of the county I represent, has burned over 140,000 acres. Yesterday, finally, we got up to 67 percent contained.

This fire has lasted over a month, and it has closed one of our great national parks, Kings Canyon National Park. Last week, when I was home, literally, ashes were raining on our communities. Governor Jerry Brown has announced a state of emergency for northern California.

The Valley and Butte fires have been significant, affecting both Congressman McClintock's and Congressman Thompson's districts.

Congressman Thompson has lost over 600 homes, and the fires are threatening thousands more. He has stayed there to protect his district and assist with the fires. At this point, the Valley fire is only 30 percent contained. The Butte fire has taken 233 homes.

As a result of these devastating fires, sadly, two firefighters have lost their lives, three civilians have been killed, and four firefighters have been hospitalized due to receiving severe burns. Literally, we have thousands and thousands of men and women who are out there manning these fires.

So the question is: What should we do about it as these numbers, sadly, continue to rise?

We need to better manage our forests. We need to help alleviate and cut down on the fuel that is there through the brush that has made these fires spread incredibly fast in conditions that were never foretold. Wildfire suppression and better managing our forests is a key to doing this.

The funding that we provide for natural disasters, like to FEMA for hurricanes and for earthquakes, ought to go toward putting out these fires.

We have exceeded over $1 billion in the U.S. Forestry Department's budget, and we have completely overrun our ability to provide funding.

Currently, money the U.S. Forest Service has allocated for forest cleanup in order to prevent fires is being used to put the fires out.

We must put our political differences aside and pass legislation that will alleviate this crisis in Western States and in California.

In addition to getting legislation passed that will provide funding for putting fires out, we need to put legislation together that would, in fact, in the future, manage our forests better.

In July, I, along with Congressman Valadao, introduced legislation, the Western Water and American Food Security Act.

This is part of a larger effort to deal with this issue. This legislation is the first step toward passing a bill that will provide additional tools for California to manage drought. This bill addresses a number of solutions to fix California's broken water system.

They include improved operations that are governed by the latest science, which will allow us to move more water when water is available in the system; additional water storage capacity; increased water recycling and reuse; improved water efficiency; and a conveyance solution that minimizes the use of an ecosystem as infrastructure and that balances the water needs for all of California.

This is but one of the tools that we need to address. We have legislation in the House, and we have legislation in the Senate. This fall, I hope we will be able to work together in a bipartisan fashion to pass this important legislation.

Certainly, these wildfires tell the public--and the public tells us--that we must do something about this. It must be a priority that we get something signed into law this year, before the rainy and snowy seasons begin. Lord knows, we hope it rains and snows this winter.

People in California, people in our valley, which has been ground zero for the drought impacts, and people in the West want Congress to act.

I urge my colleagues to take the appropriate action and pass much necessary legislation affecting the drought conditions in California and in the Western States.

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