As communities in Eastern Washington continue to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Gray and Oregon Road Fires, I’m back in Washington, D.C. working on solutions that can help prevent devastation like this from happening again in the future.

For the families who have lost loved ones, homes, and businesses, I teamed up with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass two pieces of legislation to prevent and contain wildfires, including: 

• The ACRES Act to make sure federal land management agencies are proactively  reducing the amount of fuel for wildfires on our public lands.
• The Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act to deploy new aerial technologies to combat the widespread damage wildfires cause our communities.

While these bills won’t solve everything, they are a small step towards keeping Eastern Washington communities safe before, during, and after wildfires occur. I’m grateful to my colleagues for helping pass them in the House, and I will keep you updated on our progress as we work to get them signed into law.