(NBC) – The federal government will fund big moves to prevent western wildfires.
The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to fund 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in 5 states.
The breaks in vegetation that slow a blaze’s progress will be going up in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, and Utah.
According to the BLM, wildfires are becoming bigger and more frequent across those states.
Between 2009 and 2018, more than 13.5 million acres of BLM land burned in that region.
It’s not yet clear exactly how much it will cost to build the fuel breaks as the BLM is waiting to hear from local offices on how much funding will be needed.
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