In the shadow of the fires devastating southern California, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) and other insurance trade organizations are asking Congress to act on wildfire fire mitigation.
In a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, the insurance organizations asked that Congress take action on legislative solutions aligned with the policy recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.
“The catastrophic wildfires raging through Los Angeles County are a stark reminder that wildfire risk is increasing,” APCIA President and CEO David A. Sampson wrote. “Congress must act now to reduce the risk, save lives, and protect communities.”
The insurance organizations would like to see legislation like The Fix Our Forests Act, reintroduced by U.S. Reps. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Scott Peters (D-CA). That legislation would increase the pace and scale of forest management and would establish a Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program to better coordinate federal agencies and wildfire risk reduction actions in the built environment including homes, offices and other structures, officials said.
“We strongly support this legislation that would increase the nation’s resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, improve land use planning and forest management, and better protect communities in wildfire prone regions,” the letter said. “The undersigned trade associations represent a majority of the property/casualty insurance industry, including primary writers, reinsurers, agents, and brokers. The property/casualty insurance industry has long been engaged in ongoing efforts to prevent and reduce devastation from natural catastrophes, including wildfires.”
Provisions of the legislation would reduce the fuel loads in American forests, harden utility infrastructure and improve rights-of-way against wildfire by encouraging more active management and removal of hazardous trees. The bill also includes language to create a new “Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program” that would advance scientific research on wildfire resilience and land management for wildfire prone areas and support the adoption of fire-resistant building methods and standards.