McClintock Calls For Expediting Forest Legislation Following Detwiler Fire

Washington, DC — On the US House floor, Congressman Tom McClintock praised the heroics of firefighters and first responders assigned to the Detwiler Fire in Mariposa County.

McClintock, who was in Mariposa on Saturday, spoke about their “cool and calm professionalism, selflessness, and devotion to duty.” He specifically referenced the leadership of Nancy Koerperich, CAL Fire’s Madera-Mariposa-Madera Unit Chief and Doug Binnesweis, Mariposa County Sheriff.

The Congressman also took a jab at federal forest policies, stating that, “They (firefighters) not only saved these communities and hundreds of homes, they also stopped the fire within just a few miles of the Stanislaus National Forest, a forest that is dying, because of federal environmental restrictions on forest management. The firefighters warned that if the fire had reached these vast stands of dead trees, the fire would have exploded with atomic force.”

McClintock then advocated for Congress to expedite the review of legislation he has authored, the “Resilient Federal Forests Act,” and other bills, which could speed up forest management projects. The Resilient Federal Forests Act would notably speed up post fire rehabilitation projects and protect forest managers from some types of existing forms of litigation.

He added, “The heroic firefighters of Detwiler Fire have kept it out of these hazard zones, but the hazard zones are still there.”