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 Texas Guardian 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 Texas Guardian.
More InformationTwo teams getting All-Star play from 2022 in-season acquisitions go head-to-head Friday night when the Sacramento Kings visit the Indiana ...
Giannis Antetokounmpo reached the 50-point mark for the third time since the start of January, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to ...
The Detroit Pistons had an unexpected layoff this week, though it wasn't pleasant. The team got stuck in Dallas, thanks ...
Luka Doncic scored 31 points before being sidelined by an injury midway through the third quarter and the host Dallas ...
The dream matchup the Madden NFL world waited for all season finally will happen, and in the game's premier event. ...
Nikola Jokic recorded his league-leading 17th triple-double and the Nuggets used a 16-0 third-quarter burst to break a tie and ...
TOKYO, Japan: Toyota has announced that it sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2022, maintaining its position as the world's top-selling ...
NEW YORK, New York - Technology stocks had a hay day Thursday with Facebook parent Meta rocketing up nearly 30 ...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Data released this week showed that the German economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter of 2022, indicating ...
TOKYO, Japan: In a statement posted on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, Beijing announced that it will ...
NEW YORK, New York - The U.S. dollar crumbled on Thursday after first posting gains. The late afternoon sell off ...
NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street dove into the red Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee ...