Combating Wildfires in the Western United States

Floor Speech

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Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as thousands of Utahans in my district are returning to their homes after being evacuated due to wildfires that came within blocks of their homes.

The Pole Creek fire and the Bald Mountain fire have engulfed over 100,000 acres of land and are still burning strong. It is a testament to our brave firefighters and our incredible community of volunteers that not a single life has been lost and property has been protected.

Although this fire season has been one of the worst our State has ever seen, it has brought out the best in Utah. During the height of the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires, the Red Cross was overwhelmed.

Now, Mr. Speaker, you might assume that that being overwhelmed came because of the 6,000 evacuees who needed a home. But, in reality, the Red Cross was overwhelmed because the list of people coming into the shelter offering homes was longer than the list of people needing homes. The Red Cross had to close shop.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, I visited the Red Cross shelter and found a sign on the door that said, ``Please, no more donations.'' They had too many donations from Utahans.

This is not the first time the Red Cross has had to close shop early. The people of Utah go out of their way to help others. As usual, Utah stepped up in the face of tragedy, and I plan to work to prevent future catastrophic events like this.

Before I came to Congress, I was mayor for 8 years. I understand how overwhelming it can be to coordinate disaster response, recovery, and manage the daily operations of a community.

In my district, many small towns and cities are overcome with challenges as they work out confusing jurisdictional responsibilities of the State and Federal Government, on top of actively rebuilding and preparing for the aftermath of the wildfires.

To help in this effort, last week, I convened a group of mayors, county commissioners, State representatives, and emergency personnel so that local leaders could have direct access to the Federal Government, share resources, and prepare for what comes next. I stand committed to helping our communities obtain the resources they need to rebuild their homes, businesses, and prevent further damage.

We can all agree that managing our forest is critical. While we won't prevent every fire, we need forest management reforms to reduce the risk of fires. I have already started this discussion with my colleagues in Washington.

Last week, I spoke with the interim Chief of the Forest Service, and today I met with Secretary Perdue, who oversees the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service. Both of these conversations focused on how to best manage our forests and prevent similar fires from happening in the future.

As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, I look forward to advancing policies that protect lives and protect property throughout Utah.

As we look ahead to preventing these catastrophic wildfires, let's not forget the value of our local officials and their roles in forest management decisions. They know better than anyone the challenges they face in their own backyards.

Should another fire strike, I am confident that Utahans will once again step up to the challenge and take care of our great State and the wonderful people in it.

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