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Committee advances bill to allow loggers to assist in early wildfire suppression
Summary
The House Resources and Conservation Committee advanced House Bill 389 to the House floor after testimony that state-directed use of trained loggers could allow earlier suppression of small fires on federal lands and potentially reduce the scale of later catastrophic wildfires.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee on an audio-recorded meeting advanced House Bill 389, a proposal by Rep. Judy Boyle to authorize the state to use its police powers to direct state resources — including trained logging crews — to suppress small wildfires on federal lands before they grow large.
Rep. Judy Boyle, sponsor of House Bill 389, opened the discussion by describing the bill’s origin in an interim federalism committee meeting on wildfires and said the measure is intended to let state responders act earlier to stop small ignitions. "The governor could declare an emergency and order state resources to go put out a fire before it becomes catastrophic," Boyle said, noting the bill uses the state’s police powers to protect health and safety.
Proponents told committee members that earlier intervention could curb the growth of fires that later become large, damaging blazes. Mark Mahon, co-owner of Mahon…
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