Rep. Michael Stender, R-Sunbury, is pictured taking the oath of office earlier this year in Harrisburg.

Smokey Bear hasn’t been elected to the state House of Representatives, but Rep. Michael Stender thinks Pennsylvania can help stop forest fires.

Stender, R-Sunbury, is asking for his fellow lawmakers’ support for three pieces of legislation he is drafting that Stender says will help the state prevent and fight wildfires in Pennsylvania.

The three bills include:

– Elevating the chief forest fire warden to the level of deputy secretary within the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Stender says doing so will bring the position ensuring greater authority and support for wildfire prevention and response efforts.

– Reimbursements for local forest fire wardens for training, fire investigations, prescribed burns, and public outreach. Reimbursements will help support volunteer first responders who are on the front lines when wildfires break out.

– Annual forest fire reports from the chief forest fire warden to the state Legislature to update lawmakers on wildfire prevention efforts and the state’s progress in combating forest fires.

“We must act now to ensure Pennsylvania is prepared for the growing threat of wildfires and our communities are safer in the years to come,” Stender said.

Stender’s co-sponsorship memorandum cites increasing wildfires throughout the country, including January’s wildfires in California that burned thousands of acres of land and killed 30 people as well as the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii. In Pennsylvania, Stender said, there has recently been an increase in the number of forest fires, nearly tripling from 2019 to 2020 reaching a recent peak of nearly 2,000 wildfires in 2023 – a number Stender said Pennsylvania hasn’t seen since 1946. In 2023, wildfires burned 9,186 acres, destroyed three residences and 24 other structures, caused 15 injuries and killed three people.

There were two forest fires in Warren County last fall – one in Glade Township and another near Youngsville – while a 62-acre fire burned in 2023 in the Bradford Ranger District of the forest. A 2022 wildfire in Glade Township burned another 259 acres and was later ruled an arson.

Stender’s legislation also comes as there is uncertainty over how President Donald Trump’s layoffs in the U.S. Forest Service will affect fire prevention efforts on national forests in Pennsylvania.

“This surge in wildfires demands immediate action. If we want to protect our communities, our first responders, and our natural resources, we must invest in wildfire prevention and response efforts,” said Stender. “The bills I will introduce are designed to enhance our state’s ability to combat wildfires, strengthen our forest fire response infrastructure and ensure the safety of all Pennsylvanians.”