BOISE, Idaho — President Joe Biden will be in Boise on September 13 to visit the National Interagency Fire Center. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday the president wants to highlight how wildfire season now lasts all year, and that severe weather affects one in three Americans.
Scientists say climate change has made the American West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
Biden will also make stops in California and Colorado following his stop in Idaho.
In Sacramento, Biden is scheduled to survey wildfire damage and in Long Beach, he will participate in an event with Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Associated Press reports Biden's visit with Newsom comes in the final days of a recall campaign where voting ends on Tuesday.
Biden will end his trip to Denver, where he will participate in a Build Back Better event.
NEW: President @POTUS Biden will be in Boise on Monday to visit the @NIFC_Fire before heading to California and Colorado. pic.twitter.com/p1abXihasW
— Karen Lehr (@KarenLehr) September 9, 2021
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said on Twitter that she looks forward to welcoming Biden to Boise. McLean announced earlier this year that Boise City Council approved a climate action goals plan, which includes a carbon-neutral goal for city government by 2035 with the entire community following by 2050.
"I’m excited to share our progress and discuss ways that the President’s Build Back Better plan could help us leverage local resources to invest in long term resilient infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate and grow a strong economy with good paying jobs for Boiseans," said McLean on Twitter.
I look forward to welcoming @POTUS to Boise. We are seeing the impacts of climate change, and are proud of the work the @NIFC_Fire has done to protect the West from fire.
— Mayor McLean (@boisemayor) September 9, 2021
Thursday marks the 57th day at National Preparedness Level 5 and wildfires in several states continue to burn with evacuation orders in place in California, Minnesota, Montana and Washington. NIFC says more than 23,000 wildland fire personnel are working toward containment goals on incidents across the country.
Fire managers are preparing for expected thunderstorms in northern California, Oregon and Nevada. NIFC reports critical weather conditions across parts of California, Oregon, Idaho and Montana increased fire behavior on several large fires and complexes on Wednesday.
