US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) said that the wildfires intensifying in the West demand "urgent action" during a meeting with seven Republican and Democratic governors to discuss how states are responding to the wildfires and how the federal government can best assist.
"We can't ignore how the overlapping and intertwined factors -- extreme heat, prolonged drought and supercharged wildfire conditions -- are affecting the country. And so this is a challenge that demands our urgent, urgent action," Biden said during the virtual meeting, CNN reported.
The President said: "Our resources are already being stretched to keep up. We need more help, particularly when we also factor in additional nationwide challenges, the pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and our ongoing efforts to fight Covid."
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Govs. Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jay Inslee of Washington, Gavin Newsom of California, Brad Little of Idaho, Kate Brown of Oregon, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.
"We're in a for a long fight yet this year and the only way we're going to meet those challenges is by working together. Wildfires are a problem for all of us and we have to stay closely coordinated in doing everything we can for our people," Biden said.
The President held a similar meeting with governors last month to discuss the raging wildfires. In that meeting, Biden said climate change was a driving factor of the wildfires, and that the US was seeing wildfires of greater intensity that move with unusually high speed.
( With inputs from ANI )
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