Gov. Ducey calls for special session as wildfires and drought pose threats to state
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) says he will call a special legislative session next week to figure out how to handle the devastating wildfires and all of the damages. This as several southwest states, including Arizona, experience a severe drought.
The state’s wildfire season comes every year posing threats to rural communities and land.
Representative Tim Dunn explains why Gov. Ducey made the decision.
“So extremely dry, very few rainfall so we're above dry temperatures. So he's had some people that are telling him to do the Game and Fish. The national forest service or state lands department, how dry the forest and stuff is, and so we need to be proactive. We have money in the budget. We don't want to come back and it's harder, it's easier to try to prevent a fire than just try to stop a fire,” said Rep. Dunn.
Between the telegraph and mescal fires in Pinal and Gila counties… nearly 250 square miles have burned.
Representative Charlene Fernandez says the funding should be ongoing.
“We need to make sure that this is ongoing. We have to make sure that this doesn't happen again later on in the year, next year, the year after that, we need to make sure that our forest service is well maintained, is fully funded, and has the personnel, they need to make sure things like this don't happen.”
So much so, Fernandez says bills have been drafted up but have become stale.
“We've had members and one of them is senator Otondo that has had legislation to be proactive about what we anticipate, as far as wildfire season, thinning of the forests, making sure that there's enough water, making sure that we have the infrastructure and personnel to fight these fires, and we don't ever hear those bills.”
Our weather is not helping the efforts either. The lack of rain means water levels are low which is a major concern in neighboring states.
“There'll be an ongoing collaborative bipartisan discussion on what we want to do to mitigate upcoming fires, whatever we can do to there to help public awareness wise, and just making sure that we have more help with our forest service,” Dunn added.
The local representatives seem to agree more long-term planning and funding is needed.
“I’m hoping that as we sit down with our Republican counterparts that they'll understand where we're coming from, if we want true investments, true ongoing investments we need to start thinking ahead of the long game,” Rep. Fernandez explained.
“If there are some suggestions from the forest service or state lands, or a dot that says you know what we need these ongoing money as we as we, we can't, in a special session I don't believe we can do ongoing funding we're going to start at one-time funding, but that's something we could sure bring up in the budget conversation,” Rep. Dunn said.
Both representatives tell me they’ll meet on a bipartisan level next week and collaborate to determine how the state will move forward.
It’s not the only thing lawmakers will be focusing on. Next week, they will reconvene to finalize the new budget.
