1 in 6 Americans are currently living in an area with significant wildfire risk. That’s over 80 million properties at risk of destruction by fire.
John,
The Washington Post’s new analysis of data published by the nonprofit First Street Foundation shows that 1 in 6 Americans are currently living in an area with significant wildfire risk. That’s over 80 million properties at risk of destruction by fire. The Post's ananlysis also finds that a disproportionate number of those living in vulnerable areas are communities of color.
We know why this is happening. The accelerating impacts of climate change and increasing encroachment into lands with flammable vegetation have created a perfect storm for wildfires. More and more, the property, health, and safety of *everyone* living in these areas are at significant risk.
We know what the solutions are, too. Building with fire-proof materials and creating a barrier between flammable vegetation and homes mitigate the most pressing and immediate dangers associated with wildfires. Ensuring that small communities have the knowledge and resources to protect their homes is another proven way that folks can develop their resiliency to wildfires.
The Biden Administration has started this work by approving $3.5 billion for climate disaster community preparedness. However, only 4 percent of counties experiencing significant wildfire risk have been able to access this funding. Clearly, we must do more. The risk of wildfire is only increasing. Our policy needs to catch up.
SEEC members Reps. Jerry McNerney (CA-09), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) are stepping up to meet this crisis by introducing the National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act (H.R. 5781), which would improve the nation’s preparedness, resilience, and response to wildfires by overhauling our forecasting systems and encouraging the adoption of cost-effective mitigation techniques.
But they need your support. There are many in Congress who would choose to stall action on this front, and so our SEEC members need your backing to fight back against those opponents to our climate priorities.
Thanks to your help in 2020, SEEC PAC was able to re-elect over 95% of our pro-environment members to the U.S. House of Representatives — defying the odds on a night where Democrats lost seats. Now we are counting on you to help our SEEC members pass climate, clean energy and environmental justice policies in the 117th Congress while we undo the damage of the Trump Administration. But if you'd like to receive fewer emails, we understand. You can click here to only get our most important messages, or you can unsubscribe.
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