Oregon Public Broadcasting

Knock on wood, it’s been a rather sedate wildfire season in the Northwest. But California’s forests are burning up.

The Forest Service is transferring $42 million from the Northwest to help with the firefighting down south. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

So far this wildfire season, the U.S. Forest Service has spent about a billion dollars to put out fires. Its firefighting budget isn’t dry yet but the agency figures it will need another $400 million to get through the season.

So the national office has told the regional offices they’ll have to chip in. The Oregon and Washington forests will give up about $24 million; the forests in Idaho and western Montana will give back about $18 million.

Forest supervisors will postpone non-essential projects, reduce travel and not fill vacant positions.

But Joni Quarnstrom from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest says they won’t cut essential customer services.

Joni Quarnstrom: “We’ll continue to service campgrounds. We’re still pumping toilets, we’re still providing toilet paper. That certainly falls under health and safety for the public.”

Quarnstrom says this is the fifth consecutive year the regional offices have been asked to give money to cover firefighting costs elsewhere.