Fire Chief Thomas Jenkins, IAFC president and chairman of the board, testified today before a Congressional panel that the IAFC is concerned about the escalating costs and damages caused by wildland fires. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there were approximately 71,500 wildland fires reported last year, which burned almost 10 million acres. This was an increase of more than 80 percent over the amount of acreage burned in 2016.
Jenkins, chief of the City of Rogers Fire Department (Arkansas), testified before the House subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management of the committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on the impact of the 2017 wildland fires.