Included in the scramble and confusion of the recent congressional appropriations bill, U.S. Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz succeeded in gaining approval of his \u201cWildfire Prevention Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday, Feb. 9, when President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1892, the supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2017-18, the language of Ruiz\u2019s bill, H.R. 1183, Wildfire Prevention Act,\u201d was included.<\/p>\n
On his Facebook page, Ruiz proudly wrote, \u201cMy bipartisan \u2018Wildfire Prevention Act\u2019 became law today! It aims to provide millions of dollars in much needed relief for our district\u2019s mountain communities and for the many people still recovering from past wildfires \u2026. This is a big win for our local communities and all those still recovering from major wildfires.\u201d<\/p>\n
The language would allow recipients of Fire Management Assistance Grants to take steps to prevent future wildfire disasters, as well as recover from the recent wildfire disasters.<\/p>\n
The need for this flexibility is prevention of further danger as well as extinguishing a current fire. The grants are limited to fighting fires, but post-disaster support is needed, too. Examples of post-fire danger include the flooding seen at the Thomas Fire site. And positive steps to help prevent future wildfires can be taken, too. This would make wildfire disaster relief consistent with aid for other natural disasters, according to the press release.<\/p>\n
The financial assistance may now be used for the following projects and activities:<\/p>\n
\u2022 reseeding ground cover with quick-growing or native species;<\/p>\n
\u2022 mulching with straw or chipped wood;<\/p>\n
\u2022 constructing straw, rock, or log dams in small tributaries to prevent flooding;<\/p>\n
\u2022 placing logs and other erosion barriers to catch sediment on hill slopes;<\/p>\n
\u2022 installing debris traps to modify road and trail drainage mechanisms;<\/p>\n
\u2022 modifying or removing culverts to allow drainage to flow freely;<\/p>\n
\u2022 adding drainage dips and constructing emergency spillways to keep roads and bridges from washing out during floods;<\/p>\n
\u2022 planting grass to prevent the spread of noxious weeds;<\/p>\n
\u2022 installing warning signs;<\/p>\n
\u2022 establishing defensible space measures; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 reducing hazardous fuels<\/p>\n
The language applies only to fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19, but Ruiz is already working to make this language permanent, according to Hernan Quintas of his staff.<\/p>\n
Ruiz will be in Idyllwild this week. On Thursday evening (Feb. 22), he will be the featured speaker at the Idyllwild Indivisible\u2019s 6 p.m. meeting at Town Hall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Included in the scramble and confusion of the recent congressional appropriations bill, U.S. Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz succeeded in gaining approval of his \u201cWildfire Prevention Act.\u201d On Friday, Feb. 9, when President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1892, the supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2017-18, the language of Ruiz\u2019s bill, H.R. 1183, Wildfire Prevention Act,\u201d was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":52109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n