WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President Joe Biden will promote his administration’s use of a wartime law to aid in wildfire preparedness during a Western swing in which he’ll survey wildfire damage Monday in California and meet with fire officials in Idaho.
The administration activated the Defense Production Act in early August to boost supplies from the U.S. Forest Service’s primary firehose supplier. It marks the second use of the law, after the president used it to boost vaccine supplies, and the administration had not previously announced it.
The use of the act helped an Oklahoma City nonprofit called NewView Oklahoma, which provides the bulk of the U.S. Forest Service’s hoses, obtain needed supplies to produce and ship 415 miles of firehoses. Biden planned to showcase the move as part of his administration’s efforts to address yet another devastating wildfire season across the Western U.S.
The president planned to meet with federal and state fire officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, and then travel to Sacramento, California, to survey wildfire damage and deliver remarks about the federal response.
He’ll wrap up the day in Long Beach for an election-eve event with California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faces a recall vote on Tuesday.