Led by Sinema and developed by Kelly, the Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act provides more than $340,000 to enhance wildfire training for firefighters and implement local wildfire protection plans.

Washington – $341,217 will be invested to strengthen Arizona’s wildfire prevention efforts from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, led by Senator Kirsten Cinema and developed by Senator Mark Kelly.

The investment was awarded to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) to enhance wildfire training operations and implement the 2022 Gila County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for 24 months.

“We are proud that our bipartisan infrastructure law supports Arizona firefighters and strengthens our efforts to prevent wildfires in Arizona. We will protect it,” said Cinema, co-author and lead negotiator for infrastructure investment and employment law.

“Thanks to the wildfire prevention funds we secured under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, today’s investment will give Gila County the much-needed resources for training and operations ahead of this wildfire season. Okay,” Kelly said.

Today’s investment funds are implementing Gila County’s 2022 Community Wildfire Protection Plan. It identifies high-priority programs to reduce wildfire risk to communities, including subject matter expertise training for firefighters.

The Cinema and Kelly Infrastructure Act provides $3 billion to implement a 10-year plan to combat wildfires in Arizona and across the country. In his four significant restoration and mitigation projects: the Museum Fire Deposit Reduction Project, Flagstaff Watershed Conservation Project, Coconino National Forest Kuragin Watershed Conservation Project, and Tonto National Forest Cooperative Forest Restoration Project.

ever since Infrastructure Investment and Employment Law was signed in November 2021, providing more than $211 million for wildfire mitigation, resilience and forest restoration in Arizona.

Cinema led bipartisan Senate talks with Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman, which included Senators from both parties, as well as Senator Kerry.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act is governed by the American Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, Association of American Manufacturers, AFL-CIO, Federation of American Retailers, Bipartisan Policy Center, Building Workers Union of North America, Outdoor Industry Association, American Hotel Lodging Association, National Education Association, hundreds of mayors in all 50 states.

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