A bipartisan legislation, the Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act, to reduce wildfire risks written by Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) was advanced by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The vote followed considering wildfires across Southern California. Rep. Carbajal’s fire legislation is expected to reduce procedural steps for removing hazardous vegetation near power lines, cutting red tape to allow for a more streamlined process while dealing with wildfire risk.
The legislation advanced will allow the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal land, including national forests like Los Padres National Forest, without requiring a timber sale.
Currently, utility companies are required to keep trees and branches away from powerlines on federal land. However, fallen or dead trees cannot be cleared without a timber sale, which creates an administrative step restricting clearance of fuel and potential triggers for a wildfire on federal land.
The bill was adopted as an amendment to the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. It will:
- Allow the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines without requiring a timber sale.
- Require any utility selling marketable forest products from hazardous trees removed near power lines to return any proceeds to the U.S. government.
The bill was first introduced in 2023 with California Representatives Carbajal, Jim Costa (D-CA-21), and David Valadao (R-CA-22) leading in the House and U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla leading in the Senate. It was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously in September 2024.
