Tester bills initiate fire support funding

With forest fire season on the horizon, U.S. senator Jon Tester spoke to the press Wednesday morning to discuss his new legislation to help fund firefighting and communities affected by wildfires.

“The fire season is real, we in Montana know that,” Tester said. “It is getting longer, it’s getting more intense.”

“Unfortunately fire season now expands beyond the summer. We’ve seen fires spark well into the fall, start earlier and earlier in the spring, with fires raging in the Flathead, Spokane, Billings in Custer County. Fire season impacts the whole of Montana, and that’s why I have announced my Western Wildlife Initiative package of three bills that will help Montana this fire season.”

Tester’s initiative would help pay for the increasing cost of fighting catastrophic wildfires. The initiative would also allow seasonal firefighters to apply for permanent, federal positions, provide FEMA funding to communities rebuilding after wildfires and help provide funding to take steps to prevent further wildfires in those affected areas. According to Tester, the increasing cost of fighting wildfires is eating away at the Forest Service budget. Last year, they spent over 50 percent of their budget, and by 2025 they expect firefighting alone to consume 67 percent of their current budget, according to Tester.

Nate Gassmann, district ranger for the Canoe Gulch Ranger Station near Libby, said that other Forest Service departments have had to shuffle their finances to provide more money to the forest fire funds.

“Last year there was about $500,000 that was transferred out of various projects that weren’t fire-related projects,” Gassmann said.

Gassmann said as result of funding transfers, other programs have seen personnel fall by as much as 30 percent due to the need for fire funding.

“That’s trail crews, fisheries crews, wild land crew and others that don’t get the support in the myriad of things we want to accomplish,” Gassmann said. “Over time those things add up but we’re committed to safety first.”

On the positive side for the Forest Service, Gassmann said the agency’s overall budget is strong.

“That just shows you the commitment that our lawmakers have. It’s them and other folks coming out and trying to help us do better at what we’re doing.”

Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.