I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 770
To declare a State of Emergency on Federal lands within the State of
California for the immediate reduction in forest fuels for the prevention
of catastrophic wildfire.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 1, 1995
Mr. HERGER (for himself and Mr. RIGGS) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Resources and, in addition, to the
Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To declare a State of Emergency on Federal lands within
the State of California for the immediate reduction in
forest fuels for the prevention of catastrophic wildfire.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Forest Fire and Pest Emergency Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
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Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Declaration of emergency.
Sec. 5. Strategic fire plan and budget.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—
(1) Congress accepts the report and findings of
the National Commission on Wildlife Disasters, cre-
ated through the Wildfire Disaster Recovery Act of
1989 in response to the destructive western fire sea-
son of 1987 and the Yellowstone fires of 1988. The
Commission found:
(A) Millions of acres of forest, grassland,
and desert in the United States face abnormally
high risks of wildfire due to altered species
composition, excessive fuel buildup, and in-
creased ignition opportunity.
(B) The problem is exceptionally severe on
the public lands of the Western States, where
dangerous conditions exist over very large areas
and wildfires can attain a size and intensity
that defies control.
(C) Preventing disaster in such situations
can no longer be limited to suppression with en-
gines, air tankers—fixed-wing aircraft that
drop chemical retardant—and other firefighting
paraphernalia.
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(D) In many forest situations, fuel reduc-
tion by mechanical removal through careful sal-
vage logging, thinning, or other means will be
needed before prescribed fire can be safely
utilized.
(E) The southern California firestorm of
1993 burned nearly two hundred thousand
acres, destroyed over one thousand one hundred
structures, killed three people and injured over
one hundred and sixty, and cost an estimated
$1,000,000,000 in suppression efforts, dam-
ages, and restoration. Soil erosion, mudslides,
wildlife habitat loss, and other damage will
leave an unforgotten legacy for years to come.
(F) In California, three thousand five hun-
dred homes were destroyed by wildfire between
1920 and 1989, but well over four thousand
two hundred were destroyed between 1990 and
1993.
(G) In 1992, when twenty-four thousand
five hundred acres of prime timber and recre-
ation lands in the Sierra-typical mixed conifer
forest, laden with heavy fuels, bone dry from
the six-year drought, and suffering from
drought stress and insect and disease attack,
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ignited into a raging firestorm, it turned into
the most expensive rural wildfire in California
history in just four days. Total estimated value
lost was $245,000,000, $16,500,000 in sup-
pression costs, two lives and seventy-two fire-
fighting injuries. After an optimistic salvage re-
covery, estimated value loss is $5,670 per acre.
Cost for preventive fuels treatment average less
than $200 per acre.
(2) Based on recent scientific reports, including
the California Spotted Owl Report (CASPO) and the
Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project Progress Report
(SNEP), Congress finds:
(A) The enormous wildfires awaiting igni-
tion on the public lands of the West can no
longer be seen as an uncontrollable act of na-
ture; they will be the direct result of negligence
in land management, much of which can be
traced to the longstanding aversion to fire in all
forms.
(B) Major reductions in wildfire extent,
damage and cost are possible if effective pre-
ventive actions are taken in time.
(C) Wildfire must be mitigated by preven-
tive land treatments that reduce fuels, break up
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large contiguous areas of dangerous conditions,
improve building standards, and create defen-
sible spaces between flammable fuels and sus-
ceptible buildings.
(D) Outstanding late-successional forest
areas are often found in the less accessible loca-
tions, and the potential for losing them to cata-
strophic wildfire is very high.
(E) Stands once kept open by frequent,
low-intensity lightning fires have been, as a con-
sequence of fire suppression, highly altered both
in structure and function by the development of
dense, shade tolerant understories that now
place them at risk of high-intensity stand-
replacing fire.
(F) Efforts to reduce catastrophic fire risk
to late-successional forest stands, and to main-
tain key ecosystem processes and biodiversity,
are much more likely to require active manage-
ment in the Sierra Nevada.
(G) Activities which reduce forest fuels will
provide interim employment and availability of
men and equipment for forest fire suppression.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to imme-
diately reduce the risk of wildfire on Federal forest lands