Senator Michael Bennet calls for wildfire relief funds to be included in COVID-19 relief package

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KRDO) -- On Tuesday, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and several of his colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives requested funding for wildfire risk mitigation and recovery efforts in the next COVID-19 relief package in an open letter.

“2020 was a record-setting fire year for Colorado. In addition to balancing their response to a global pandemic, our communities are now faced with the challenge of minimizing post-fire damage and beginning to rebuild,” said Bennet. “Congress should step up and provide our communities and those affected by wildfires across the country with the resources they need to recover and in the long run, we must invest in forest health and wildfire mitigation.” 

Colorado Senator Joe Neguse also spoke on the topic, saying the record 2020 wildfire season created catastrophic economic and health impacts for several Colorado communities and the road to recovery is a long one.

“Congress has the power to not only help these communities recover, but also to make major federal investments in sustainable forest management to ensure they are better prepared for the next season." said Neguse.

The letter specifically calls for:

• Relief to cities and towns originally excluded from the CARES Act
• Funding towards fire risk mitigation
• Federal funding for fire response efforts
• Increased funds for late-season interagency hotshot crews
• Increased pays and benefits for federal wildfire personnel
• Funding for fire recovery to be done by local, state, and federal officials to help revitalize water quality, environmental health, and economy of communities impacted by wildfires

This isn't the first time Bennet called for wildfire relief. In September, he urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve Emergency Watershed Protection funding to mitigate and recover from wildfire damage. In October, he requested the U.S. Forest Service and USDA work with local governments to address threats posed by watersheds.

Last month, Bennet participated in sending two letters to the Senate Committee requesting federal funding to support wildfire recovery efforts in western states in the end-of-year appropriations.