Press Releases

Today, bipartisan legislation to reduce wildfire risks written by Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) will receive its first-ever hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives. The first formal hearing comes as Carbajal and his team are monitoring the 26,000 acre Lake Fire in his congressional district that has already destroyed several structures and triggered evacuation warnings in Los Padres National Forest and around the Santa Ynez Valley.

Later this morning, the House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Rep. Carbajal’s Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act, which would reduce red tape from the U.S. Forest Service procedure when trying to remove hazardous vegetation near power lines. 

The hearing can be viewed here.

“As hundreds of brave firefighters, first responders, and forest rangers work around the clock to respond to the massive wildfire burning in my region, I’m working in Washington to approve the federal policy changes that can help us prevent these increasingly-destructive wildfires,” said Rep. Carbajal. “While no one change in policy will eliminate wildfire risk entirely, I’m proud to see momentum building for this bipartisan solution that is a no-brainer for the Western states that have seen the rising risk of fires year after year. Eliminating the unnecessary administrative need for a timber sale will reduce our wildfire risk and protect the communities I represent.”

Rep. Carbajal’s legislation would allow the U.S. Forest Service 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, the Forest Service requires utility companies 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 Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act would:

• Allow the Forest Service to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines without requiring a timber sale.
• Require any utility that sells marketable forest products from hazardous trees removed near power lines to return any proceeds to the Forest Service.

Carbajal introduced the bill in October 2023 with Western Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-05), Jim Costa (D-CA-21), and David Valadao (R-CA-22). The legislation has a companion in the U.S. Senate, which was introduced last year by California’s late Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Alex Padilla.