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Lawmaker honors three Utah firefighters, urges Senate to pass Fix Our Forests Act
Summary
A House lawmaker honored three firefighters who died battling the Knowles and Gore fires, gave updated figures on the blazes, blamed forest mismanagement for deadly wildfires and urged the Senate to pass the Fix Our Forests Act while announcing further wildfire legislation.
A House lawmaker rose on the floor to honor three firefighters who died fighting wildfires in Utah and urged the Senate to pass the Fix Our Forests Act to improve wildfire preparedness.
"Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the three fallen firefighters who tragically died this past weekend while fighting fires in Utah," the lawmaker said, naming Emily Barker, Nick Hutcheson and Sydney Watson and offering prayers for their families.
The lawmaker said the deaths occurred during an interagency response to the Knowles and Gore fires and thanked "the many first responders working tirelessly to protect us," praising personnel from across the state who are on the front lines.
Describing the scale of the current blazes, the lawmaker said nearly 2,000 personnel are actively fighting fires that span over 250,000 acres. He blamed "unpreparedness and mismanagement of forests" for too many deadly wildfires and said that addressing those problems requires legislative action.
The lawmaker said he was an original cosponsor of the Fix Our Forests Act, which he said was one of the first bills the House passed this Congress, and urged the Senate to "finish the job and send this bill to the President's desk." He described the measure as intended to increase coordination so wildfire agencies can better prepare for fire season and prevent catastrophic blazes.
He also said he is working on new legislation "to better prevent, detect, and mitigate wildfires," calling for improved coordination and more support for those putting their lives on the line.
"What's happening across my state is devastating, and I pray that the fires will soon be contained for the safety of our first responders," the lawmaker said before yielding back the remainder of his time.
