Biden Unveils Plan To Combat Threat Of Western Wildfires Amid Extreme Drought

The president is meeting with Western state governors as concerns grow over the risk of a historic fire season.

President Joe Biden is meeting with the governors of Western states on Wednesday to discuss the growing threat of wildfires amid a severe drought and record-breaking heat wave across the region.  The president is set to announce new efforts to increase wildfire prevention and response efforts, including hiring more federal firefighters and raising their pay to at least $15 per hour, according to senior administration officials in a press briefing late Tuesday.  Federal firefighters, some of whom make about $13 an hour, according to the officials, will receive bonuses to bump up their pay in the short-term. Biden, who has called federal firefighters’ pay “ridiculously low,” aims to work with Congress to make the wage increases long-term.