The Forest Service spends 42 percent of its money to fight forest fires, a share that has nearly tripled in size since 1995, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in calling for a new approach to wildfire funding. To help pay for fire-fighting, the Forest Service, a USDA agency, routinely has shifted money out of programs that would improve the health of forests and reduce the threat of fires.
“We expect to have to borrow up to $400 million” from other accounts this year, he said. The administration has proposed a higher guaranteed level of funding for wildfires plus up to $954 million in disaster funds that can be tapped during catastrophic fire seasons.
So far this season, there have been 37,119 fires on 2.63 million acres, says the National Interagency Fire Center. The 10-year average is 52,974 fires and 5.45 million acres.