Feds spending more than budgeted on wildfires

The federal government spent almost $2 billion fighting wildfires last year.

The U.S. Forest Service spent about $1.4 billion, while the Department of the Interior spent $600 million, according to Paul Hefner, deputy forest fire staff officer for Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

That figure exceeds the amount budgeted by Congress. which is how much???

"We've exceed our budget each of the last several years," Hefner said. "If we exceed the budgeted amount we have to go looking for the funds from within our own agencies."

They can only hope Congress will pay them back the following year.

The $2 billion figure includes only the amount drawn from federal accounts to fight fire - it does not including state or local costs, economic losses to communities, damage to ecosystems or long-term rebuilding, Hefner noted.

"There's a cost to county sheriffs for evacuation, a cost to power companies for infrastructure damage, a cost for road damage, guard rail damage, overtime hours, rehabilitation, the overall total just goes on and on and on," he said.

The cost of fighting last year's Old Fire in Southern California is nearing $45 million, he said, and growing as bills come in. The Martis Fire of 2002 cost more than $20 million.

"That's why we really want to emphasize prevention," Hefner said. "If we could prevent 10 percent of the fires we're fighting - 10 percent of $2 billion is $2 million. With $2 million we could fund a lot."

The federal budget for fighting wildfires has stayed about the same over the last three years, according to Mike Dondero, chief of fire and aviation for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

"It's basically staying flatline - it's not increasing or decreasing very much," he said.

He'd like to see the budget grow to match cost-of-living increases for firefighters and other staff. And more should be spent on "fuel management" or forest thinning, he said.

"That's the name of the game. To reduce the cost of fighting fires and the number of large fires you have to do effective fuel management."