Congressman Tom McClintock’s two forest management bills, H.R. 178 the Put Out the Fire Act and H.R. 179 the Proven Forest Management Act, have advanced through the House Natural Resources Committee.
The Put Out the Fire Act establishes new rules for wildfire suppression and management by the Forest Service. It requires that within 24 hours of detecting a wildfire in its jurisdiction, the Forest Service must use all available resources to extinguish it. The act also prevents federal officials from limiting firefighting efforts by state and local agencies authorized to respond to wildfires.
“Rep. McClintock’s ‘Put Out the Fire Act’ requires federal land managers to use all available resources to carry out wildfire suppression within 24 hours of discovery. This bill will support our brave firefighters risking their lives and supply them with the means necessary to effectively combat dangerous wildfires. It is especially timely as the Dragon Bravo wildfire affects the North Rim on Grand Canyon National Park as this fire was monitored by the NPS and allowed to get out of control. I applaud Rep. McClintock’s leadership,” said Congressman Westerman, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
The Proven Forest Management Act would extend a categorical exclusion for forest management projects across all national forests, a provision that was first applied only in California’s Tahoe Basin under legislation signed into law in 2016.
Tom McClintock has represented California’s 5th district in Congress since 2009 after succeeding John Doolittle (https://mcclintock.house.gov/about/full-biography). Before his tenure in Congress, he served in both chambers of California’s legislature between 1996 and 2008 (https://mcclintock.house.gov/about/full-biography). Born in White Plains, New York, in 1956, McClintock currently resides in Elk Grove and holds a BA from UCLA.
Full text of both bills can be accessed online.
