New federal fire help makes a difference

The federal Bureau of Land Management’s recent agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation and local fire districts has already paid off this fire season.

The USBR turned over 200,000 acres to the BLM to manage.

With Grand Coulee’s fire district already on board with the agreement, Electric City has joined up as well.

Fire Chief for Electric City Mark Payne spoke to the Electric City Council last week about the benefits of the agreement.

“Ninety percent of our district is bureau ground,” Payne said, “and so we had access to ground troops, cats; it’s really a win-win. This gives us the ability to be paid for our equipment, and gives the ability to come home and turn [a fire] over to them instead of standing out there for days with limited resources.”

Payne noted the Washington Flats fire downriver in July and the recent Grass Valley Fire as examples of the BLM coming in and helping in the face of a natural disaster.

The BLM is able to help provide aircraft, ground crews, and equipment toward the suppression of a fire.

Payne noted that the BLM wants to be called right away when fires emerge in the area, even if it’s not directly on BLM or USBR land.