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| Wilson Calls for New Fire Management Plan |
June 07, 2000 |
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Wilson: Cerro Grande fire compensation package expected to be attached to the Military Construction Appropriations Bill in conference as early as next week
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson called on the National Park Service to scrap their current prescribed burn program and create a new fire management plan from a blank sheet of paper. Wilson issued her challenge during a House Resource Committee hearing that featured Governor Gary Johnson and local officials affected by the Cerro Grande Fire.
During Wilson’s testimony before a joint oversight hearing conducted by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Forest and Forest Health and the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands she stated, “I’ve seen a lot of “after action” reports and results of investigations, and even ordered a few. Everything from aircraft mishaps and military exercises to abused foster children and near riots in juvenile prisons. I don’t remember one as bad as this.
“The plan was flawed. The higher-ups rubber-stamped it. The burn boss was not qualified to do a fire this big. He didn’t have enough people to do the job. The back-up that the plan called for was arranged and wasn’t there. They didn’t get the weather reports. They didn’t use the checklist. And they didn’t listen to anyone else’s concerns or second-guess their own judgement. And all of this next to a town and on the perimeter of a nuclear weapons laboratory,” she said.
“All of this suggests an attitude problem in the National Park Service. If the guys on the line think the policies and procedures are “just paperwork” that you have to do before you go ahead and do whatever you want, it’s going to take tremendous change to turn this around. That will require changes to organizations, retraining, active oversight, and different ways of enforcing accountability,” concluded Wilson.
Congresswoman Wilson has been working together with Senator Domenici, Senator Bingaman and the Administration to develop a compensation package for the families, businesses, and local and tribal governments affected by the disastrous Cerro Grande fire.
“While FEMA has done an admirable job providing temporary relief for the victims, the real work--rebuilding and healing--is yet to come. The government must accept responsibility and move swiftly to assist those who have suffered such a tremendous loss because of a fire set by a federal agency,” said Wilson.
Wilson said that, at this point, she expects the fire claims legislation to be added on to the Military Construction Appropriations Bill that is pending in a conference committee of the House and Senate. That Committee may meet as early as next week.
Additionally, Congresswoman Wilson’s request to include $350 million in emergency fire-fighting funds for federal land management agencies was approved by the House Appropriations Committee prior to the Memorial Day work period. Earlier this year the House approved $350 million in emergency funds to help fight wildfires on federal lands as part of an emergency appropriations package, however, the bill was not approved by the Senate. As a result, Congresswoman Wilson met with the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and requested that they include the funding in the fiscal year 2001 spending package.
Specifically, the legislation provides funding for emergency rehabilitation, presuppression, and wildfire suppression activities on BLM land, National Park land and National Forests. The bill provides $100 million for the BLM, $100 million for the National Parks Service and $150 million for the US Forest Service.
Today’s hearing included four panels of witnesses:
Panel I
- U.S. Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM)
- U.S. Rep. Joe R. Skeen (R-NM)
- U.S. Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)
Panel II
- The Honorable Gary Johnson, Governor of the State of New Mexico
- The Honorable David Venable, Mayor, Village of Cloudcroft
- Lorenzo Valdez, County Manager, Rio Arriba County
- Dr. Richard “Dick” Burick, Deputy Director for Operations, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Panel III
- Dr. Robert H. Nelson, Senior Fellow in Environmental Studies, Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Scott Stephens, Assistant Professor of Fire Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
- Jeff Bryant, Private Citizen
- Dr. Thomas M. Bonnicksen, Professor, Department of Forest Science, Texas A&M; University
Panel IV
- Bob Stanton, Director, National Park Service
- Janice McDougal, Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry, USDA Forest Service
- José Cruz, Director, Fire and Aviation Management. USDA Forest Service
- Lyle Laverty, Regional Forester, Rocky Mountain Region, USDA Forest Service
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