Young Oak Kim: “I thank Chairman Westerman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8790, the Fix Our Forests Act. The…”

“I thank Chairman Westerman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8790, the Fix Our Forests Act. The fear facing many of my constituents during California's peak wildfire season, especially in the canyon communities close to the Cleveland National Forest, became a reality in recent weeks as multiple wildfires burn simultaneously in southern California, including the Airport fire in my district. The Airport fire has burned over 23,500 acres, and still counting, in Orange and Riverside Counties. I am grateful to the first responders who are working day and night to keep our communities safe. Times like these also show us that first responders need all tools available to protect our communities and respond to the ever-changing threat that wildfires pose. The Fix Our Forests Act includes legislation that I introduced called the Wildfire Technology Demonstration, Evaluation, Modernization, and Optimization, or DEMO, Act, that would address this need. I introduced the DEMO Act after hearing from firefighting agencies and companies developing innovative technologies. This bipartisan legislation aims to deploy more emerging technologies to fight wildfires by allowing private entities to partner with Federal land management agencies to test wildfire technologies in a 7-year pilot program.…”