Klobuchar praises efforts to prevent future wildfires in Bemidji a year after massive storm
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U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar made a stop in Bemidji this past week for an update on the ongoing recovery efforts nearly a year after a devastating storm felled 9 million trees in the region.
Klobuchar toured an area, where work is being done to stave off the chances for wildfires in the future, especially given tree debris that lingers from last year’s storm.
"So, this Conservation Corps, which is part of AmericaCorps, is out here right now doing these burns of these piles of trees that they need to get rid of, or it's a risk for fire," she said. “It’s really about the whole community.”
A recent U.S. Drought Monitor report shows conditions in Beltrami County range from "abnormally dry” to "moderate drought." The dry weather, combined with a fuel source that numbers in the millions of felled trees, increases the chance of wildfires.
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While city leaders told Klobuchar much has been done to clear the fallen debris, including the formation of a long-term recovery team, there’s still work to do. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also informed her it has been conducting aerial surveys to identify areas at risk of wildfires throughout Beltrami County.
"It's an elevated risk. It's not catastrophic at this moment, because a lot of good work was done this fall and winter with clean up,” Ben Lang, a DNR Bemidji area forester, said. “But there's definitely an elevated risk of that potential."
During her visit, Klobuchar reassured city leaders that although the area didn't meet the threshold to receive federal aid, other funding options could be available. She said part of the equation to offset the approximately $9 million in damages the city incurred, includes state aid -- a formula unique to Minnesota – which would see the city recoup 75 percent of the funds expended on cleanup.
“First, you get what you can out of insurance, which has been what's happened. Then you get what you can out of the state money,” she said. “Then you look for other ways to fund the remaining 25 percent match, including going to the state and trying to get more.”
Klobuchar praised the people of Bemidji for “standing tall for their town.”
“It's not just Paul Bunyan that stands tall around here,” said Klobuchar, alluding to the iconic Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, located outside the tourist information center.
