By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P] .
President Joseph Biden announced a $37 million grant to the state of California to support fire mitigation efforts as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new program.
The announcement came after President Biden convened a meeting with Western state governors, Cabinet and agency officials and energy partners to discuss the imminent need to work together to strengthen prevention, preparedness and response efforts for this wildfire season, which is on track to surpass the last.
At the meeting, the president emphasized the importance of making much-needed investments to prepare the country, as well as doing everything possible to address the growing and severe threat of wildfires to save lives.
In the virtual meetingBiden highlighted the series of actions his Administration is taking to respond to wildfires this year, including making substantial investments in firefighter staffing, increasing federal firefighter pay and access to retention incentives, and expanding the hiring of temporary firefighters to ensure a more effective response during this year's fire season.
He shared how the Administration is improving federal wildfire response capabilities, including through the use of new technologies, and helping vulnerable communities mitigate the impact of wildfires through new funding.
Last month, Biden announced that the Administration will double funding for the program to $1 billion by next year to invest in pre-disaster mitigation and resilience resources and help strengthen the capacity of communities, families and businesses to withstand extreme weather events and other disasters.
For her part, Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted investments in resilience for part of the protection against wildfires and extreme weather.
Both officials asked the governors what additional support and resources they need and what immediate actions the federal government can take to protect communities from wildfires, help them cope with drought conditions and improve emergency preparedness.
In that regard, the governors, who represent a variety of states across the West, discussed the importance of working closely together and coordinating to prevent wildfires from occurring and to ensure that response efforts are as rapid and effective as possible.
Similarly, the president and his national security advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, asked the three CEOs of Western utilities to describe how they can improve the ability to manage extreme demands on the grid, decrease the likelihood of electrical infrastructure sparking or being affected by wildfires.
As well as the development and implementation of new technologies to improve extreme heat management and forest fire prevention.
In this regard, Biden discussed the synergistic relationship between grid modernization and enabling a more resilient low-carbon future.
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