Fighting against wildfires in New York

To the editor,

Waking up in New York is one of the greatest experiences in the world. However, this summer, I woke up to an orange cloud covering the city. The air was hard to breathe, and what could have been a beautiful day was gone.

New York is not just skyscrapers and city life. Sixty-two percent of New York State is forested and can be set on fire at any time. In 2025, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, there were a staggering 77,850 wildland fires, the highest in America since 2009, which cost America $424 billion annually, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Also, a study published in the journal “Science Advances” shows that long-term exposure to tiny particulates from wildfire smoke contributes to around 24,000 deaths annually in the U.S.

However, there is a solution to minimize loss: the Fix Our Forests Act. The bill expedites critical forest projects while preserving environmental safeguards, removes regulatory barriers, provides emergency authorities to the forest service and invests in prevention technology. The Fix Our Forests Act has bipartisan momentum, having passed the House 279-141 and moved out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on an 18-5 vote.

I urge Senator Schumer to work across the aisle to pass the Fix Our Forests Act and give our community the tools they need to prepare for increasingly severe wildfires.

CASPER STUBBERUD

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