>> sub committee on environment and climate change will now come to order. the chair recognizes themselvesst himself for five minutes for the purposes of an opening statement. good morning, again. today the committees convene for a joint sub committee hearing to conduct oversight of an issue ravaging communities and plaguing the environment. fires often occur within the u.s. an average of 73,000 wildfires burn seven million acres of u.s. land each and every year. though these fires are in some cases part of the healthy ecosystem, their destruction has defr sta devastated communities here at home and around the world. wi your representatives from each of these areas that have been recently hard hit by wildfires. among you including my colleagues from california, oregon, washington and colorado. we are also joined by a member of my staff here from australia whose community still feeling the impact of recent wildfires in his nation. the annual area burned in our nation's western states alone could increase two to six times by the middle of next century. factors determining to this up tick include climate change, urban development and issues related to power lines. last year california experienced historically catastrophic fires resulting in a tragic loss of life and unimaginable destruction to homes and property. one-half of the most disasterous fires are linked to electric utility infrastructure. high winds in particular blow vegetation into power lines and snap aging electric infrastructure causing live wires to fall and ignite fires. since '07, california has permitted the use of public safety power shut off by electric utility to permit wildfires in a high wind event. however, long term solutions are necessary considerations as black outs pose a risk to multiple populations. i want to thank our witnesses for their participation in today's hearing and i look forward to identifying concrete solutions to these daunting problems. i welcome for an open state my gren friend from the great state of michigan. >> thank you for holding the hearing. there are many of us that there's no question the biggest driver of the recent wildfires is decades of mismanagement of our nation's forest. yet, climate change is indeed playing a role. the evidence suggests our direct impact to the land and the ways we manage our forest has a lot to do with the situation that we're facing today. i plan to use today's hearing to discuss what we can do to improve forest condition, prevent sparks on electrical lines, remove brush and treep tro -- trees and strengthen planning and preparedness at every level. wildfires are not a new phenomenon. before the pioneers settled the west, wildfires were much more wide spread. they burned many more acres than today. today's wildfires are burning hotter and with more intensity as a result of decades of fire suppression and the build up of brush in dead trees. with population growth and urban sprawl, more people than ever before are live ng ting in the wilderness area grown with wildfires. there are many steps we can take immediately including the thinning of brush, prescribed burns. as we know from some of our prior hearings on wildfires, the issues are particularly acute in california and oregon which have both suffered devastating wildfires in recent years. i look forward to hear what utilities can do to manage hazardous trees and maintain their equipment to prevent sparks. i'm interested in learning how utilities can improve preparation with more accurate forecasting, more sensors and automated equipment to improve systems. there's a big role for technology. we need to think about how to innovate and driver these new ideas into practice. members of this committee are interested to gather lesson learned on the regulatory side especially at the state level. there are permitting challenges that prevent utilities from clearing hazardous tree, we need to address them. much of focus will be on california and the challenges they are experiencing with their electric utilities. while the fires themselves are devastating, millions of residents in california also have been suffering through these public safety power shut offs. an attempt to prevent wildfires from being started by electrical equipment with strong winds and dry weather. the blackouts have resulted in kcascading effects. it's crazy to think live ng a society where one must worry about whether the lights or on, whether they can come back, let ie lo alone worry about whether 911 will work in an emergency. we should treat wildfires like seve severe weather and cyber attacks. we need to make sure we have the tools in place to protect, respond and recover to wildfires where ever they might occur. i look forward to today's testimony. continuing the conversation with colleagues on both sides about some legislative solutions. we have a number of bills that address with reliability, pipeline security that will strengthen department of energy to respond in natural disasters like wildfires. let's get the bills to the floor soon. they are but one of the many steps we need to take. with that i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. the chairman now recognizes mr. tucker. >> in recent years we have become accustomed to destruction power of wildfires. it poses health and ecorlogical risks. these increases in wildfires are a symptom of an ailing planet and climate change is contributing to the growing severity of these fires. these conditions prime the landscape for long dangerous burns. in prooefrs hearings we heard our forest capture and store significant amounts of carbon which can reduce climate solution. wildfires reverse that benefit. climate change is worsening fires that cause more climate damage. we know our wildfire response requires greater resilience, adaptation and planning. today we will seek to understand what is necessary to dine an operate an electricity system that is more resilient and acknowledges that fire poses a risk to and can be caused by our energy infrastructure. i hope we will hear more about the strategies being proposed to ensure high risk areas can continue to have both safe and reliable service. we're enabling the investments in great modernization and management necessary to indeed harden our systems. i'll yield one minute of my remaining time to mr. cardenas. >> thank you. i want to take a moment to thank the thousands of firefighters and first responders throughout california and across the country who were on the front lines risking their lives to protect us from these devastating fires. these fires are all too common in my district and across the state and across the country. now we're talking a until acres or more. these wildfires threaten american lives, homes, property, business. from january to october in 2019, we had over 40,000 wildfires that burned over $4.4 million acres. as we hold this hearing, australia burns. raging fires have swept across australia devastating land, property and wildlife and more than 30 people have been killed. over a billion animals have died and more than 3,000 home vs bs been burned down. we can do more. i yield back. >> i now yields the remainder of my time to the gentleman from california. >> i thank the chair. i requested today's hearing in part because our current energy, infrastructure in this country is not adequate to today's challenges. our energy grid serves as the backbone of our economy touching every aspect of our lives. a reliable grid system is crucial for national security and for a clean energy future. over the past few decade, a combination of actions at the federal and state levels have rendered our energy grid impaired. this poses a major challenge as wildfires and other extreme weather events are expected to continue to increase in severity due to climate change. we first need to understand if and win infrastructure investment began to taper off and why. thank the witnesses for attending. ie yield back to the chair. >> with that, mr. chair, i yields back the remainder of my time. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois. >> thank you. today' hearing will review the risk and harms of wildfires and what may be done to address the risks. general focus concerns the role of the electric power structure. our focus around the power sector should be useful for the s subcommittees. it should help inform a better understanding of what it takes to reduce wildfire risks and improve the resiliency when wildfire risks are high as has been if case in california and the pacific noths west frthwest number of years now. we talk about addressing long term climate risk, for example, a big part of the discussion must involve what is needed to provooiide for adaptive capacit. part of the capacity involves ensuring the economic wherewithal for communities to respond to risks. another part is permitting for timely decisions that enable for coast effective, resilient infrastructure. i understand, for example, one of the benefits of pg&e exercising the communications and outreach during the power outages has been to better prepare the communication and response for catastrophic events like earthquakes. during the 115th congress i chaired to subcommittees. on wi. we examined air quality impacts of wildfires with a focus on stakeholder perspectives. we also examined the mitigation and management strategies for reducing air quality risk from wildfire smoke. generally, these strategies involve efforts to reduce the intensity and frequency of wildfires that threaten communities. the strategies also involve managing the inevitable smoke impacts, whether from wildfires or from what is known as prescribed burning. and they involve that ensuring effective actions are appropriately in air quality monitoring and compliance activities so states and localities are not punished for taking action that will improve public health. the epa has issued guidance over the past year aiming to reduce penalties for prescribed burns and wildfires. this process requires significant coordination, planning, and approvals. it's bad enough for communities to experience choking wildfire smoke. but for states to be further penalized for these exceptional events does not make sense. today's hearing should provide additional perspective to help understand the importance of these strategies to the larger goal of reducing the harmful impacts of wildfires. additional information on the value of preventative measures, such as described burns, mechanical thinning, and related practices, would be useful today. two of our businesses today, dr. brandon collins and dr. anthony davis can talk about the value of these practices from their field work in california and the pacific northwest and we kwelcoe you here. during the past two wildfire hearings, we learned about the experience in the united states which has -- than in the west. there are many recenasons for t. some involving topography. but the underlying fact is that more can be done today to reduce the risk. it will be useful to examine the measures most necessary to respond, to recover from wildfire events. for electric providers, the most pressing issues concern restoration of power or ensuring communities have the electricity when they need it most. and increasing their technological ability to ensure reliability during hazard events. for federal and state policymakers, there is also a need to ensure recover. having basic facts on this can go a long way to improving our energy, environment, and public health policies. let me welcome the panelists. i look forward to understanding the challenges and opportunities you face and what we can do to assure our policies accommodate what is necessary to reduce the risk and assure adaptive capacity going forward. with that, i yield back my time and i thank you. >> the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes mr. pallone for the purposes of an opening statement. mr. pallone is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, chairman. this is an important hearing today and as we examine impact of wildfires on our environment, wildfires are becoming more frequent and more dangerous and more destructive due to the impacts of climate change. and it's not only the united states that's affected by these fires. catastrophic wildfires continue to rage in australia, which has been the focus of media attention. and that claims lies and property and decimates unique wildlife and habitats. and the cost of these events are tremendous and they continue to rise. mr. chairman, i just wanted to, if i could ask unanimous consent to enter into the record, an article in my local newspaper talking about how the types of wildfires that have raged in australia could very well happen in my home state of new jersey in the pinelands, which is an area that, in many ways, has a similar phenomena to the brush that has caught on fire in australia. and -- and fire is and has been a part of the lifecycle of many ecosystems. but inadequate management coupled with the infrastructure to the fire prone areas has increased fire risk. failure to address these risks is contributing to more wildfires getting started. and when they do start, climate change and the extended droughts and high temperatures soerassocd with it results in fires that burn hotter, over more extensive areas. since the '70s, the average number of large wildfires in the united states has tripled and the area burned, six times greater. last year, nearly 50,000 wildfires burned. these wildfires are particularly destructive in the western states. and california has borne the brunt of the damage in devastation over the last several years. while climate change is making wildfires more severe and more frequent, most wildfires in the united states are caused by human activity. the 2018 campfire in california was the deadliest wildfire in nearly a century. it was started by transmission lines owned by pg&e. clearly, electric utilities have to do more to ensure their systems are modernized. and the safety of the communities they serve depends upon responsible equipment management and maintenance. and more drastic preventative measures must be taken, such as the planned power shutoffs that affected millions last year. we have to reduce fire risks associated with infrastructure located into fire-prone areas. we have to do a better job of habitat management. and we must address climate change to avoid ever-worsening droughts and elevated temperatures that intensify as far as once they start. this is critical because the fourth national climate assessment projects that the frequency of wildfires could increase by 25%. and the number of very large fires could triple if we don't act. the devastation is suffering caused by wildfires can only be curtailed by moving forward with an array of policies to accomplish these goals. there is no singular solution to the problem. i have -- i'd like to yield now, at least a minute, to representative -- and if time remains after that, i yield to mr. peters. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to see one of the most recent and devastating wildfires have not occurred in my district. but above and around my district. where we are getting the down-wind effects of this devastation. therefore, i want to highlight the risk my constituents face because of wildfire smoke containing harmful chemicals. carbon monoxide in dangerous levels of particulate matter. today's hearing can bring much-needed attention to this issue. it is our responsibility to press policy and industry experts for answers to difficult questions about public health and safety, grid reliability, and in the face of rapidly-changing climate, how utilities are accounting for worsening natural disasters. we must take this opportunity today to demand the accountability and push for answers as to how we can avoid past mistakes and plan for a safer future for our constituents. i'll look forward to hearing from our constituents -- our witnesses and constituents. and i yield the rest of the time to mr. peters. >> thanks. there is a vicious feedback loop that exists between wildfires and climate change. so you have these longer periods of drought caused by climate change, dry out trees and vegetation. that leads to more frequent and intense wildfires. that leads to heat trapping carbon dioxide, which perpetuates the cycle. and burn-out force -- forests lose almost all their capacity to sequester carbon. i want to know what congress needs to do about this. and it's tempting to focus on the points of ignition. our electric utilities have to do better. or whether it's caused by a cigarette. the reason these fires are so intense has to do with climate change. and i hope today's hearing will illuminate what we should -- how we should respond to that, as congress, and i appreciate the time. i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. committee now has a unanimous consent request -- unanimous consent request from the committee chairman. are there any objections? seeing no objections, so ordered. the chair now recognizes mr. walden, who is the ranking number on the foreign committee for the purposes of his opening statement. >> thank you very much, chairman rush. we appreciate you and -- and others holding this hearing jointly between the two subcommittees. i want to welcome dr. davis from oregon state university school of forestry. and dave marcum from central oregon and we will talk more about them coming up but we're glad you and the other panelists are here today. this is really an important topic. important topic for those of us in the west. when i chaired this committee, we had two hearings on air quality and effects of wildfire smoke on human health conditions so i'm really appreciative of the fact that we're continuing this sequence of hearings. and when we last held a hearing on this topic in september of '18, my home state of oregon, for the second year in a row, was battling near-record wildfires. communities in my district experienced some of the worst air quality in the world. in the world. while also suffering significant economic impact as tourists went elsewhere. oregonians told me those with breathing disorders actually had to leave the state, go over to the oregon coast, go somewhere else to find air that they could breathe. just two months after the hearing, california, tragically, suffered the fatal campfire, devastating the town of paradise. in the wake of that and other harmful events, california and oregon have moved toward requiring utilities to strengthen emergency plans, including deenergizing lines in areas of high risk. my hometown was told by pacific corps this year we will be in that zone. they will de -- just as wind storms were threatening new wildfires. the news report suggest this may become the norm in coming years. but we also know this strategy is not without negative consequences, especially for people who have special medical needs that may require electricity without interruption. just think about that. somewhere along the way, your power goes down in your entire community and you're left trying to figure out how to breathe. meanwhile, government red tape continues to stand in the way of commonsense, hazard tree removal. this is a fact. this is a fact. in fact, i have got a slide if we could put it up on the screen here. dave marcum provided for me. central electric service territory is 56% on federal land. this is partially a federal land management problem and i know he will speak to these challenges later. but he gave me this photo that's behind us. i don't know if we can put it on the side screens or not. last april, central electric applied to move this power pole. you see it in the distance. an aged power pole. 20 feet. 20 feet so they could mitigate against the threat of wildfire. that was in april. the new location would be safer. it would be more accessible. the forest