Congressman Panetta, Senators Feinstein and Padilla Lead Call for Year-Round Wildland Fire Workforce

Press Release

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) along with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla and Representatives Zoe Lofgren (CA-52) and Scott Peters (CA-52) are leading their California colleagues in a letter urging the Biden Administration to transition to a year-round federal firefighting workforce.

"As we have seen firsthand on the central coast of California, wildfire seasons, unfortunately, are turning into wildfire years," said Congressman Panetta. "My colleagues and I are trying to stay ahead of that issue with the creation of a year-round federal firefighting workforce. Such perennial and critical fire fighters will bring stability, consistency, and reliability to the efforts to not just suppress but also prevent wildfires.

"As California and the West continue to contend with historic and destructive wildfire seasons, it has become clear that we are entering a "new normal' in which increasingly intense wildfires wreak havoc during a nearly year-round fire season," the lawmakers wrote to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Interior Secretary Haaland.

"Because the federal government owns 57% of the forest land in California, and climate change all but ensures an ever-expanding fire season in the years to come, we must begin to adapt our federal resources to better align with needs on the ground," the lawmakers continued.

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