Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, agriculture chief to speak on wildfire mitigation plan

PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack were set to make an announcement Tuesday in Phoenix about the Biden Administration’s wildfire mitigation strategy.

U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore was to join the pair to discuss how to protecting communities in Arizona and other western states from the impacts of wildfires, which have increased in number and size in recent years.

“You’re going to have forest fires,” Vilsack told The Associated Press before the announcement. “The question is, ‘How catastrophic do those fires have to be?'”

“The time to act is now if we want to ultimately over time change the trajectory of these fires.”

The announcement was scheduled to begin 11:10 a.m. and be livestreamed on the USDA’s YouTube page.

Prior to the announcement, the senator and secretary were to visit with local farmers and ranchers at a family-owned farm in Glendale.

They were to discuss actions the Biden Administration has taken in an effort to create better market opportunities for farmers, ranchers and consumers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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