Ducey Calls Special Session To Allocate $100 Million On Fires, Floods

June 14, 2021 Staff Reporter

The Arizona Legislature has been summoned to a Special Session to begin on Tuesday. Governor Doug Ducey called the Special Session to the Legislature’s approval of his $100 million plan to combat and prevent wildfires, equip firefighters and communities with the resources they need, and prepare for after effects such as flooding and mudslides.

 The investments include:

  • $24.6 million for a partnership between the Department of Forest and Fire Management and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry to reduce wildfire risk to Arizona communities by conducting hazardous vegetation removal; and

  • $75 million for fire suppression efforts, recovery efforts including post-fire floods, economic assistance for those displaced, and assistance to landowners for emergency repairs to infrastructure damaged by wildfires.

On June 9, the Governor issued two Declarations of Emergency in response to the Telegraph and Mescal Fires, making available up to $400,000 for response efforts.

In March, Sen. Sine Kerr’s Senate Bill 1442 to prevent wildfires by allowing for additional partnerships to employ Arizona inmates to clear forests of debris was signed into law.