U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressed his appreciation for the work of Congress to find a bipartisan fix for the way the U.S. Forest Service is funded for fighting wildfires. Secretary Perdue had advocated for the change since taking office in April 2017. Congress included the solution in the FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Package, which has been signed into …
State Says Wildfires Likely to Get Worse
By Lloyd Dunkelburger, News Service of Florida With the state battling 106 wildfires covering 124,000 acres as of Wednesday, Florida’s top forestry official warned the fire season has yet to reach its peak. Jim Karels, director of the Florida Forest Service, said Florida is experiencing an “active early fire season,” with drought conditions throughout the state. “We tend to peak …
Wildfire Season
From: Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam I recently toured damage caused by a wildfire in Polk County that burned 5,500 acres and destroyed more than 10 homes. I was reminded that we can’t underestimate the danger that wildfires pose, and we can’t be more grateful to our heroes who run toward danger to protect us. Last week, the Florida Forest Service responded to …