17Rocky Mountains in the background, driving
through Neguse’s district felt like we could have
been anywhere in the U.S. In a few short hours,
we bounce from one wildfire- razed subdivision
to another. Only one of them bordered open
land. The rest were doomed by the vagaries of
the wind, which carried flames across the high-
way and into neighborhoods, seemingly at ran-
dom. Some large buildings stand undisturbed.
Others were destroyed altogether—a new 120-
room hotel is now little more than an elevator
shaft and some steel beams.
Neguse says he’s making headway getting
lawmakers across the political spectrum onboard
with meaningful wildfire policy. He succeeded in
pushing for more than $5.75 billion in funding as
part of last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law to
invest in forest management that will reduce the
risk of wildfires in some high-risk zones. With a
Republican counterpart from Utah, he launched
a congressional wildfire caucus.
But his most urgent initiatives may be the
work his office is doing to help residents andlocal officials navigate the maze of federal pro-
grams and support as they try to rebuild. After
my tour, Neguse dropped by a recreation cen-
ter across the street from a burned- down sub-
division to meet with displaced residents. One
sounded angry. Another teared up. But for the
most part, the gathered residents had entered
a new stage of response, defined less by emotion
over the wildfire and more by frustration with
their efforts to rebuild. Snarled supply chains
meant long waits for construction materials.
A stretched housing stock meant finding a tem-
porary place to stay was expensive. “It’s just
making everything more difficult,” said Neguse.
To truly address the root cause of the spike
in wildfires would mean cutting emissions, but
in the meantime there are all these other fires to
put out. To that end, Neguse promised to take
his constituents’ challenges back to Washington.
The next day, before he could leave town, yet an-
other stumbling block got in the way: he tested
positive for COVID-19, and those burning con-
cerns would have to wait just a little longer. ‘It can
happen in
New Jersey.
It can
happen in
Georgia.’
—JOE NEGUSETHEO STROOMER—REDUX FOR TIME