Mitigate the Threat from Wildfires

Wildfires are a growing national threat, intensifying each year and devastating more communities. Utilities must manage vegetation near power lines to reduce wildfire risk.

Public power utilities face delays in implementing comprehensive vegetation management plans for rights-of-way (ROW) on federal lands, liability issues, and difficulties in procuring adequate insurance.

The Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471/S. 1462) would reduce barriers public power utilities face when executing vegetation management plans and hazard tree removal, thereby reducing the risk of wildfires and protecting critical infrastructure from damage.

• Pass the Fix Our Forests Act in the Senate to increase the area for vegetation management around ROW and ease environmental burdens on public lands.
• Create a congressionally authorized voluntary federal insurance backstop solution to stabilize the insurance market and ensure continued reliability across high-risk wildfire areas.
• Support robust funding for research, development, and technology deployment, and staffing of federal land management agencies with federal wildfire mitigation and response authority.