Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) continues to aggressively pursue legislation aimed at reducing the risk of wildfires to local communities — and senators are starting to pressure FEMA.

On July 30, Udall and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to get out in front of wildfire disasters by working with local communities prior to an incident on wildfire mitigation projects.

The bill would also put wildfires on the same level of other natural disasters — hurricanes, tornadoes, floods — plus provide eligibility for Colorado, Oklahoma and other states to get an extra 15 percent of the funds FEMA uses for fire suppression.

“Colorado communities and public lands managers know that the cheapest fire to fight is one that never burns. This bipartisan, common-sense and deficit-neutral bill would allow Colorado to proactively work to prevent wildfires before they even begin,” Udall said in a statement posted to his website. “Wildfires are a natural phenomenon, but we can — and must — reduce their impact so that we can avoid catastrophic wildfires. Taking action now is fiscally responsible, because thinning forests and reducing hazardous fuels will help save lives, homes and infrastructure. Studies show that every dollar spent on hazard mitigation saves an average of four dollars.”

Udall was part of a Senate committee hearing in June that looked at the way the federal government, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior used their appropriated funds for wildland fire management.

“Last summer, wildfires across Oklahoma destroyed homes, killed our ranchers’ livestock and destroyed our farmers’ crops. Proper mitigation efforts would have reduced or even prevented the devastation that many Oklahomans experienced,” Inhofe said in a joint statement. “I am pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Sen. Udall that will allow FEMA to be more proactive in preventing and combating these types of natural disasters.”

Udall has also been at the forefront pushing for the replacement of the U.S. Forest Service’s aging air tanker fleet and the transfer of C27J Spartan aircraft from the Department of Defense to the USFS for conversion to duty in fighting wildfires.

Other recent legislation:

• Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have been pushing FEMA to identify funding roadblocks to its current wildfire mitigation programs. On July 23, Bennet and Crapo inserted a clause into the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that would require FEMA to prioritize wildfire prevention and report on its wildfire mitigation projects.

• On July 25, Bennet and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) proposed an amendment to a Federal Aviation Administration plan for testing drone technology. The FAA and Congress have identified six test sites nationwide where these drones will be studied. Bennet and Flake want two additional sites in Colorado so that tests can be performed to study a drone’s effectiveness for wildfire detection and firefighting.