Bipartisan bill eliminates red tape for clearing potential wildfire fuel from federal lands and national forests
[This week], U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) announced his bipartisan legislation to reduce wildfire risks passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Carbajal’s Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act would reduce the procedural steps needed for removing hazardous vegetation near power lines, cutting red tape to allow for a more streamlined process to combat wildfire risk.
U.S. Representatives David Valadao (R-CA-22), Jim Costa (D-CA-21), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) are co-sponsors of the legislation. U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Steve Daines (R-MT) lead companion legislation in the Senate.
The Congressman spoke on the floor earlier today advocating for the passage of his bill. Watch the full speech here.
“The Western United States continues to experience catastrophic wildfires, and we need common-sense solutions that balance sustainable forest management practices with reducing wildfire risks,” said Rep. Carbajal. “My bipartisan bill strives to find this balance and is a common sense solution to protect our communities.”
“California is no stranger to destructive wildfires, and in the Central Valley, we live with the consequences,” said Rep. Valadao. “Far too often, bureaucratic red tape gets in the way of proper forest management, and it directly impacts air quality in the Valley. It shouldn’t be so hard to remove the dead trees we know make fires worse, and I’m glad to see this commonsense step toward reducing wildfire risk cross the finish line in the House.”
“As our communities continue to recover from devastating wildfires, the House took the right step by passing the Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act to help prevent future disasters,” said Rep. Costa. “This legislation will cut red tape, streamline the removal of hazardous vegetation near power lines, and strengthen our infrastructure to better protect homes and businesses.”
“As Co-Chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I’ve worked to advance practical, prevention-first solutions to reduce wildfire risks. The House’s bipartisan passage of the Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act is a meaningful step forward—cutting through red tape to allow for the safe removal of hazardous vegetation near power lines on federal lands. This commonsense measure will help protect lives, support our firefighters, and make our communities more resilient in the face of growing wildfire threats,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick.
“The catastrophic Southern California fires were a blaring warning call for smarter, proactive solutions to strengthen fire resilience across the country,” said Sen. Padilla. “Expediting the removal of hazardous fuels — like brush and other vegetation — near power lines is a commonsense, bipartisan solution to reduce the threats of catastrophic megafires that are devastating American communities. I am glad to see the House move our bipartisan bill forward and will continue exploring all avenues to keep California residents safe from the wildfire crisis.”
“Montanans are tired of breathing in smoke and this bill is a commonsense approach to addressing the root of the problem. I commend the House for passing this bipartisan legislation and thank Montana Representatives Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing for their support,” said Sen. Daines.
The legislation would allow the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal land – including national forests like Los Padres National Forest – without requiring a timber sale, easing a serious threat that has in the past been a major cause of destructive wildfires.
Currently, utility companies are required to keep trees and branches away from powerlines on federal land. But fallen or dead trees cannot be cleared currently without a timber sale, creating an administrative step that can slow clearing of hazardous fuel and potential triggers for a wildfire on federal land.
The bill was adopted as an amendment to the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act.
The bill was first introduced in 2023 with California Representatives Carbajal, Jim Costa (D-CA-21), and David Valadao (R-CA-22) leading in the House and U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla leading in the Senate.
The bill was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously in September 2024.
Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California’s 24th Congressional District, encompassing Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County.
Good stuff. It’s a start. Interesting to see if the extreme enviro’s and usual suspect NGO’s that seem to always oppose these measures will cry about some overgrown brush getting cleared out.
BASIC – no one has ever, EVER, opposed the clearing of dead brush near power lines.
But by all means, don’t let that stop you from making up things to “argue” against.
Nah, if that were the case, they wouldn’t have needed to create this congressional bill. And sure as sh-t the enviros always oppose clearing of trees and brush throughout our forests in this state, and especially locally. Plus we need to clear out a lot more overgrowth than just the little strips of land beneath the power lines in order to safeguard our communities from then next big wildfire. Let’s hope Salud keeps the pedal down and keeps pushing for better management of fire fuels in our frontcountry.
LOL that makes no sense dude. You’re making things up. That logic just doesn’t work.
Yeah, there is opposition to mass deforestation via logging, but this isn’t that. No one opposes this. No one.
Sorry you won’t have something to complain about here, but it’s just not a real thing.
To clarify, legislatures don’t pass bill ONLY because some people oppose the the subject/action of the bill. Like come on, man…..think about it.
Yeah, I realize that. But thanks anyways. Keep ranting if you want…
Then why did you say it? LOL whatever man. You got your weird thing. All you though. 🤦♂️