Republican lawmakers urge Trump to take action ahead of wildfire season

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A group of Republican lawmakers asked US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to take action ahead of the wildfire season.

"We write to express our strong support for executive action your Administration is considering to mitigate the escalating wildfire crisis threatening our nation," Sen. Tim Sheehy along with 16 other Republicans wrote in the letter.

They said while the wildfire season generally spans May to November, this year has already been “one of the worst on record.”

"Immediate, decisive action is critical, and we support the Administration taking commonsense measures to protect the American people," they wrote.

They said "unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and redundancies" within the agencies responsible for wildfire management are hampering the ability to respond to the wildfires "quickly and aggressively."

"Adopting a more streamlined approach to wildfire response, implementing modern technology, giving brave wildland firefighters the tools and support they need to do their work safely and effectively, and ensuring the best resources are available to be deployed quickly when responding to wildland fire are all commonsense ways we can dramatically improve the federal wildland fire apparatus as we approach the bulk of the fire season this summer," they added.

Stressing that executive action from Trump will provide the “most immediate path” forward, the lawmakers said: “We stand ready to fully support your leadership in protecting American communities from the devastating impacts of catastrophic wildfires.”