Robert Besser
24 Jan 2023, 13:11 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Biden Administration announced this week an additional expenditure of $490 million to combat the growing threat of wildfires in the western US.
Authorized by last year's Inflation Reduction Act, the move comes after massive wildfires ravaged North and South America, Europe, Australia and parts of Asia in 2022, which were driven by warmer and drier weather, according to scientists.
"It is no longer a matter of if a wildfire will threaten many western communities in these landscapes, it is a matter of when. The need to invest more and to move quickly is apparent. This is a crisis and President Biden is treating it as one," said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Controlled burns and the removal of dead wood and vegetation in forest in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington would be funded by the extra money, Vilsack added.
In 2022, the Biden administration announced a 10-year plan to treat and maintain millions of additional acres of forests in the western US to ease the severity of seasonal blazes, with some $440 million being provided by the Infrastructure Act of 2021.
The US Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture, manages some 2 million acres in the western US.
According to US government statistics, in 2022 wildfires burned more than 7.5 million acres in the US, causing billions of dollars in damage.
Get a daily dose of Sports Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sports Sun.
More InformationThe Cleveland Cavaliers look to bounce back from a rare home loss when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. ...
The Boston Celtics didn't do much wrong in the opening quarter and breezed to a 139-96 home victory over the ...
Dejounte Murray recorded 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks never trailed while drubbing the host ...
Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and rookie Walker Kessler had a big game on both ends ...
Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed no regrets Wednesday about the team's ...
Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and rookie Walker Kessler flirted with a triple-double en route to ...
The PGA Tour makes the 14th of 44 regular-season stops in the FedEx Cup season at one of the world's ...
Hall of Fame NFL executive Bobby Beathard, an architect of four Super Bowl titles for two different teams, has died ...
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is teaming up with the American Heart Association on an initiative promoting CPR. Hamlin had ...
He inspired, confounded and dominated peers for 23 years in the NFL, but Tom Brady insists he's leaving for real ...
The San Francisco quarterback room just got smaller as 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan signaled Wednesday that Jimmy Garoppolo will ...
Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours. PGA ...