The tragic results of Hurricane Katrina continue to be felt in the Gulf States and now threaten to be felt throughout the federal wildland fire forces across the country. The Bush Administration is proposing to divert a $500 million reserve fund set aside for severe fire years to support hurricane relief efforts.

Congress established the reserve last year to supplement fire funding in those busy fire years when normal funding levels are inadequate. The relatively quiet fire seasons in 2004 and 2005 have lulled the Office of Management and Budget into a false sense of security for future seasons, and they apparently see a big apple ready for the picking!

When unbudgeted money is needed mid-way through the fiscal year, the normal process is to “borrow” the money from other activities, usually within the same agency. This budget shift leaves planned and programmed work unfunded, not only in fire management, but in other natural resource management activities as well.

Fortunately for the federal wildland fire services, there are numerous folks (both in Congress and in the general population) who are keenly aware of the importance of this reserve and are making their voices heard. Having seen the wide range of fire season severity during the 1990s and the first years of the 21st century, they remember the costs of suppressing megafires — and the disastrous effects of taking funds from other projects to pay for them.

While none of us enjoy paying taxes, we all have expectations of services that will be provided by our government. We place dealing with emergencies such as wildfires, floods and hurricanes at the top of the list of government duties, along with providing education and repairing roads. Eliminating the wildfire suppression reserve fund is short-sighted and will surely come back to haunt us both in the short term and down the road.

Large fires have been occurring with regular frequency around the world, most recently in Spain and Portugal, but also in Australia, Russia and China. As fire professionals, it's our duty and responsibility to keep elected officials fully informed about the potential of upcoming fire seasons, and the resources needed to manage them at the expected level. Trying to balance the budget with cuts to the wildfire suppression reserve may make sense to government bean counters, but it ignores the fact that Mother Nature deals the last hand.

Note: The International Association of Wildland Fire has a busy 2006 conference schedule planned, and we hope that you'll be able to attend and participate as members and fire professionals.

First, we're launching a new “Fire Behavior and Fuels” conference series. The first session, “Fuels Management: How Do We Measure Success?” will be held March 27-30 in Portland, Ore. It will be followed by a second conference in 2007 and then will move into a two-year rotation. Pat Andrews of the Missoula Fire Lab is heading up this conference.

We'll also be having our Ninth Wildland Fire Safety Summit, this year April 25-27 in Pasadena, Calif. This is the Safety Summit's first trip to Southern California; with its heavy fire load, large number of fire agencies and long history of fire entrapments, we expect a great program and a diverse group of attendees.

Information about both conferences can be found on our Web site at www.iawfonline.org.

Contact the IAWF

International Assn. of Wildland Fire
P.O. Box 261
Hot Springs, S.D. 57747-0261
ph: 605-890-2348
fax: 206-600-5113
iawf@iawfonline.org

To join the IAWF, visit www.iawfonline.org

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