--- title: "Governors to Congress: Stop ‘Fire Borrowing,’ Fix Wildfire Funding" id: "24737" type: "post" slug: "governors-to-congress-stop-fire-borrowing-fix-wildfire-funding" published_at: "2014-08-21T18:24:54+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:22:57+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/21/governors-to-congress-stop-fire-borrowing-fix-wildfire-funding/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/21/governors-to-congress-stop-fire-borrowing-fix-wildfire-funding.md" excerpt: "Members of the Western Governors’ Association are asking congressional leaders to help better fund wildfire suppression efforts, noting that the lack of a budget is hurting preventive efforts that could help keep the blazes under control." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "Advocacy" - "AssociationsNow" - "Leadership" - "Time Management" - "wildfire funding" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Governors to Congress: Stop ‘Fire Borrowing,’ Fix Wildfire Funding It’s a situation akin to turning your research and development budget into a rainy-day fund every single year—and that’s making governors in the Western U.S. uncomfortable. Over the last few years, the U.S. Forest Service has used funds intended to suppress potential wildfires before they happen to help stop them after the fact. It’s a phenomenon that even has its own name—”fire borrowing”—and it’s becoming more common because the funding to help deal with wildfires hasn’t increased along with the fires. The Western Governors’ Association, a group representing 22 governors, [has continually pushed for a fix to this problem (opens in a new tab)](http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26365568/western-governors-association-calls-end-wildfire-borrowing) , saying the lack of preventive efforts has worsened the wildfires significantly, making the seasons last more than two months longer than normal over the past decade. This month, the governors sent a letter to the top members of Congress—House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). (Reid and Pelosi are from states particularly susceptible to wildfires.) “Lack of effective management, past suppression practices, droughts, and disease and insect infestations have left Western forests immensely more susceptible to catastrophic fires,” the association [argued in the letter (opens in a new tab)](http://www.westgov.org/images/wildfire_letter_final.pdf) [PDF]. “Federal wildfire budgets have not increased to meet this escalating fire trend and now federal agencies must use funds from non-suppression accounts to pay for firefighting.” [On its blog (opens in a new tab)](http://www.westgov.org/news/298-news-2014/761-western-governors-again-urge-president-obama-congress-to-better-fund-wildfires-end-fire-borrowing) , the association notes a recent study showing that the lack of funding has been so severe that the U.S. Forest Service has had to cut its budget in other areas to make room for the increasing financial costs of suppressing forest fires. ### Wildfires At a Peak The request comes at a time when some Western states are seeing record blazes. And California, Oregon, and Washington [have each had to declare states of emergency (opens in a new tab)](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/05/three-states-fighting-wildfires-declare-emergencies/) after a major drought set the stage for near-record wildfires. And with the season traditionally stretching from May to October, some of the states could set wildfire damage records. “So far this year, over a million acres have burned in Oregon and Washington,” Carol Connolly of the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center [told Reuters (opens in a new tab)](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/us-usa-wildfires-idUSKBN0GC1X420140812) . “Our record year was 2012 with 1.2 million acres. So we are on track to break a record.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Advocacy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/advocacy/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#Time Management](https://associationsnow.com/tag/time-management/) [#wildfire funding](https://associationsnow.com/tag/wildfire-funding/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Powering Advocacy-Why PACs Matter for AssociationsNovember 20, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/11/20/associations-now-presents-powering-advocacy-why-pacs-matter-for-associations/) - [PodcastNavigating Tax Reform: Advocacy for Associations and NonprofitsDecember 19, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/12/19/navigating-tax-reform-advocacy-for-associations-and-nonprofits/) - [VideoASAE Legislative 2025 Fly-InApril 4, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/04/04/asae-legislative-2025-fly-in/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F08%2F21%2Fgovernors-to-congress-stop-fire-borrowing-fix-wildfire-funding%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !