The Associated Press
Firefighters burn brush to impede Chelan's Union Valley The fire has ballooned to 4,000 acres.

Lawmaker wants national fire czar

KATHERINE PFLEGER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published July 31, 2001

WASHINGTON -- As the fire season heats up in the West, a Colorado congressman wants the Bush administration to consider appointing a national fire czar to oversee wildfire operations.

Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., who chairs the House Resources forests subcommittee, has suggested the government should name someone to oversee policies for managing wildfires.

A host of agencies within the Interior and Agriculture departments -- including the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- handle wildfires.

"What I think the agencies need to do is figure out how they will unify their forces," McInnis said.

The congressman made the request in letters to Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. He plans to reiterate it today during a hearing of his subcommittee.

The hearing follows four deaths in the North Cascades' Thirtymile Fire. The subcommittee is looking into the deaths, as well as barriers to implementing the National Fire Plan, passed by Congress last year.

The plan provided the departments with an extra $1.8 billion over 2000 funding to clean up from last year's blazes, which charred some 7 million acres. The money also was to go toward improving firefighting capabilities and thinning forests of dried wood and other fuels.

On the web:

The Burning Season: SUMMER 2001.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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