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Hey John,
In 1982, I trained to become a U.S. Forest Service Seasonal Firefighter.
In late summer, I dug fire lines shoulder to shoulder with firefighters in Southern California as we fought a blazing wildfire.
It taught me respect for fire — its unpredictable and deadly character — and more importantly, it taught me respect for the men and women who risk their lives to fight fire.
Before I continue my story, could you chip in $10 to my Senate campaign? I want to share with you why fighting fires matters to me — but I also want to make sure we have the resources to win this U.S. Senate election this November.
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I had quite a few summer jobs to help pay for college and law school. And even then, I graduated with a lot of student debt that I paid off over the course of more than a decade. There were some years that my student loan repayments were more than my rent in Los Angeles…and that’s saying a lot.
That’s why I’ve spent so much of my career focused on expanding Pell Grants and making community college free. And it’s why I’ve pushed for President Biden to cancel federal student loan debt.
But this summer job was also formative for me, and one reason that I’ve spent so much of my time focused on wildfires in Congress.
After the Station Fire in 2009 in the Los Angeles Foothills (in the northern part of my district) destroyed hundreds of structures and resulted in the death of two firefighters, I led the charge in Congress to investigate the cause of the fire, get resources to the Forest Service that they desperately needed, make policy changes, and invest in wildfire prevention before the next big one.
By the way — here’s the “Governator” with me inspecting the damage from that fire and talking to displaced residents (and yes, after finding the burned remains of a dumbbell, Arnold could not resist a little showing off):
My experience as a seasonal firefighter, and as a Congressman representing residents who lost their homes, has helped guide me a lot in Congress.
It’s why I fought for millions of federal dollars to buy “night-flying” helicopters to drop water on raging wildfires and helped change Forest Service policy which banned night flights for decades.
It’s why I led the charge to renew a satellite program to detect wildfires before they get out of control and give real-time notice to firefighters.
And it’s why I’ve fought for legislation and resources to combat climate change — because wildfires are only going to get worse in the coming years if we fail to act.
While this type of work might not generate headlines or be something the 24-hour news networks deem important, it keeps people safe and makes our communities better. It’s the kind of work that is so critically important to me personally, and the reason why I will continue to fight for legislation that will help us withstand the effects of climate change.
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Thank you for your support, and remember to always thank your local firefighters.
— Adam
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