Governor Urges Federal Gov. To Plan Now For 2006 Fire Season

Governor Janet Napolitano is asking the United States Departments of Agriculture and Interior to plan and prepare for the 2006 fire season. In a letter dated December 30, 2005, Governor Napolitano urged Secretaries Mike Johanns (Agriculture) and Gale Norton (Interior) to “set priorities and ensure the wildland firefighting and prevention resources are in place to meet the need.” She cited as reasons for her concern below-average rainfall and snow pack during the last several months, and predictions for warm winter and spring weather. The Governor discussed what steps Arizona is taking to prevent, prepare and suppress wildfires including allocating resources for prevention and preparedness, quadrupling the number of inmate crews trained to fight fires, and acquiring mobile interoperable communications vehicles. “Arizona cannot hope to avoid another fire season like those of the last several years, but it can prepare for them,” Governor Napolitano wrote in the letter. “The federal government must do the same.”