As much of Upstate New York continues to be been overtaken by a thick haze of wildfire smoke bellowing across the Canadian border and putting the health of families and communities at risk, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today urged Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to call on the U.S. Forest Services to immediately double the personnel deployed to Canada to fight these forest fires, stop the fire, and ultimately end the spread of hazardous air flowing from these wildfires into New York State.

Schumer called on Secretary Vilsack to get any and all available help needed by the Canadian government to contain the fire and return the air quality back to a normal, healthy level. Schumer said these unprecedented wildfires are a crisis for both Canada and the United States, making it imperative that both nations respond speedily and forcefully to contain the blazes. Senator Schumer revealed his plans on the Senate floor today, and his remarks can be viewed here.

“It is unfathomable that millions of New Yorkers cannot even step outside without compromising their health and safety. From Buffalo to Binghamton, upstate residents have had to make impossible decisions between their safety and their livelihood; everything from afterschool activities to festivals, to sporting events and flights have been cancelled,” said  Schumer. “The best way to ensure that Upstate NY does not suffer another wave of wildfire air pollution from these fires is to contain them as soon as possible. That will not be easy, but the Federal Government must explore all options on the table to keep residents in New York and across the U.S. safe. We must send personnel, equipment, and we must offer any assistance that our friends north of the border need. Climate change has taken these once-in-a-hundred-years events and turned them into yearly occurrences, and while I am proud of the work we’ve done to accelerate the transition to clean energy through bills like the Inflation Reduction Act, this wildfire is a stark reminder that without further intervention, our country will continue to fight these unprecedented events. In the meantime, we need all hands on deck to immediately make New York’s air clean, healthy, and safe once again.”

Schumer has long-championed environmental efforts to combat the damages caused by climate change, including historic wildfire mitigation and response funding. In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act Leader Schumer passed last Congress, he secured $7 billion in wildfire funding that the Biden Administration is currently getting out to communities throughout the country. In addition, Senate Democrats fought for and secured funding to improve air quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Stabilization Funds from bills like the American Rescue Plan can be used to improve indoor air quality through efforts like filtering and purification. While these helped keep COVID out of our schools, Schumer says these efforts can play a similar role in keeping out smoke. Combatting climate change fueled wildfires is a cross-agency effort and funding is moving to efforts like building firefighter workforce to purchasing new technology to beat back fires.