PD Editorial: Time for a national conversation about wildfires

A long, deliberative congressional study hardly seems a match for fast-moving wildfires — 44,000 of which have consumed nearly 8 million acres across the country so far this year.

But a comprehensive assessment may be what it takes to turn our current fractured approach to wildfires into a cohesive strategy for preventing and mitigating the loss of life and the relentless destruction of homes, businesses and natural areas.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, has introduced a bill to create a Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, a 25-member panel that would review the nation’s patchwork of policies on wildland management and wildfire responses, particularly in the West, and recommend ways to do the job better.

The heads of the Interior Department, Agriculture Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency would lead the commission. Eight members would come from federal agencies, and the remaining 17 would be experts and stakeholders from states most affected by wildfires in the past five years. The experts would include at least one climate scientist, according to Romney.

Romney likens the effort to national defense and says that, so far, the federal government is falling short in its leadership on this issue. “Do you know how much we spend to protect ourselves from a foreign enemy that might attack us and kill us? A trillion dollars a year,” he said when announcing the bill earlier this month. “When we use those monies, we wisely bring in all the best minds … in the country to see how we can most effectively protect ourselves. When it comes to wildfires, what are we doing? All going different directions.”

Californians certainly need no reminders of the urgency. Three years ago, a firestorm swept through Santa Rosa and across other Northern California communities, killing dozens of people and destroying thousands of homes. The more recent Glass fire was destructive but did far less damage, thanks in part to lesser winds and better emergency preparedness, including a more-systematic approach to evacuations in Sonoma County.

California has more recent experience with wildfires than any other state. Lessons learned here would have to figure prominently into the committee’s discussions and be shared nationwide. But we mustn’t assume we have it all figured out. The committee must closely examine forest management policies, land use laws, federal spending on firefighting, greenhouse gas emissions and other critical components to prevent or blunt future disasters.

Romney’s measure deserves the wholehearted support of California’s congressional delegation. This isn’t a partisan issue, and while the majority of fires affect the West, it’s not just a regional one either. All states share a wildfire risk, and all have a stake in helping the West secure its safety and protect its economy.

Bipartisanship — and a broader spirit of cooperation — also will be needed as the commission puts forth recommendations. Leaders in each state need to prepare to make compromises on proposals that may not please them — say, restrictions on redevelopment of fire-damaged areas, or thinning forests to reduce fire risk — if we are to gain control over this problem.

It’s time to talk this through together — and build a wiser response together.

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