President Biden Releases Federal Funds To Aid Fire Hose Shortage In California

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – The Biden medication has released national funds ordering a backstage contractor successful Oklahoma to marque much occurrence hoses for wildland crews arsenic fires proceed to blaze done California.

Crews battled the Bridge Fire, which sparked successful Placer County connected September 5, but Cal Fire was abbreviated connected 1 indispensable portion of equipment.

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“This past occurrence successful Auburn, we had to bid hoses,” said Assistant Cal Fire Chief Steve Robinson.

Robinson said helium typically relies connected a occurrence cache reserve successful Redding, an instrumentality warehouse acceptable to replenish crews astatine immoderate clip but the proviso was retired of hoses.

“The cache was retired of hoses and they really had to bid hoses from a cache successful Alaska,” Robinson said.

It took an other time for Bridge Fire crews to yet get what they needed.

“We tin get stretched truly thin,” Robinson said.

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The Biden Administration has answered the call.

“We utilized the Defense Production Act to code the shortage successful occurrence hoses,” President Biden said during an code successful California this week.

NewView Oklahoma is the sole supplier of occurrence hoses to the US Forest Service, whose occupation is to bid instrumentality for wildland firefighters crossed California.

“So implicit the beingness of the contract, we’ve manufactured implicit 2 cardinal hoses,” said NewView President and CEO Lauren Branch.

By the extremity of the contract, NewView expects to manufacture 4 1000 miles of hoses—a welcomed summation for California crews connected the ground.

“The extremity is to person capable successful our banal to support america successful work and support america working,” Robinson said.

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If occurrence crews bash not usage the other hoses from the section reserves, they volition cleanable and instrumentality them truthful they are disposable adjacent occurrence season.

Laura Haefeli