Forest Service's Fire Plan Delay Draws Ire From Senator

Senator Dianne Feinstein plans to meet with the head of the U.S. Forest Service to discuss the organization's "failed" effort to meet a deadline for work crucial to revamping its aerial firefighting plan following the 2009 Station Fire, which claimed the lives of two firefighters, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

 "Fire season has begun in California, and millions of acres are at high risk of wildfire," said Feinstein to the Press-Enterprise. "I intend to meet with Forest Service chief Tom Tidwell to understand why they have again failed to meet this deadline and enact a strategy to protect Californians from wildfires in the coming years."

Tidwell told a Senate committee in May 2010 that an evaluation of the Forest Service's nighttime aerial firefighting operations would be done by January 2011. That hasn't happened, as some of the review work now actually won't be finished until 2012, said Tom Harbour, the Forest Service's director of fire and aviation. This has led Senator Feinstein, who aired her concerns about the delays in February, to seek out answers, according to the Press-Enterprise. 

The Station Fire, which ignited on Aug. 26, 2009, consumed 160,557 acres and destroyed 209 structures. The Forest Service's response to the blaze, , triggered the call from lawmakers for an investigation and revamping of the agency's aerial strategy and resourcing for fires.