August 11, 2021 - Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and a bipartisan group of Western senators in pressing the Biden administration to coordinate and develop a strategy to combat jet fuel shortages that undercut wildland firefighting as wildfires burn across the West.

“As you are well aware, the 2020 wildfire season was one of the most destructive seasons on record; destroying thousands of homes, burning millions acres, and straining communities already battling a historic pandemic. In 2021, there are already over 108 large fires burning in 15 states and the need for an aerial response to fight these fires is a critical and much-needed tool. We are concerned that fuel shortages could lead to the grounding of federal, state, and contracted aircrafts and hurt the ability for initial fire attack and further devastate communities near the growing number of wildfires,” the senators wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. 

In addition to Feinstein and Wyden, the letter was also signed by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). 

The senators requested a response no later than August 23 on the following questions related to the administration’s efforts on jet fuel shortage:  

• What plans are currently in place to address fuel shortages for aerial wildfire efforts? 
• How will your Departments coordinate a response if a fuel shortage occurs while multiple wildfires are burning across multiple states? 
• Are there enough available personnel to transport fuel to needed locations? If not, how will you increase qualified personnel?
• What are the steps to expedite the ability for non-federal entities to purchase jet fuel to support aerial firefighting? 
• What steps do you take in the contracting process to ensure that contractors have access to an adequate and reliable supply of fuel?

Full text of the letter is available here.
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein