Vulnerable locales need fuel reduction focus, Boxer asks

Sen. Barbara Boxer on Thursday asked the United States Forest Service to focus fuel reduction program on communities vulnerable to wildfires.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Boxer said too often dead or dying trees and chaparral, in many cases located where fire has not occurred for decades, becomes the fuel for fires that cannot be controlled without a serious threat to communities.  

Boxer said she recognized that the Forest Service's resources for hazardous fuels reduction have been overextended, but it was important for the agency to focus its existing fuels reduction programs in areas where the threat to communities is greatest. 

As the Forest Service allocates its remaining funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares its budget request for fiscal year 2011, Boxer said she hoped that there would be careful attention paid to prioritizing the activities in the areas of greatest need, so that when a fire occurs, the threats are completely reduced.

Boxer made her comments in the aftermath of The Station Fire in Los Angeles County, during which two firefighters were killed while battling the blaze.