(TNS) - Nevada’s political leadership is continuing to develop measures to combat the increasing threats posed by wildfires across American West and in the Silver State.

A committee of state lawmakers will begin meeting next year to discuss the effect wildfires have on Nevada, and to develop ideas for legislation to introduce in the 2021 session.

In the meantime, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., continues to draw attention to the issue. She hosted a summit in August in Reno to discuss strategies to fight wildfires, and she continues to seek out additional federal funding to help in the aftermath of the blazes.

She said she thought Nevada could be a leader in fire prevention efforts.

"I believe that what we do here in Nevada can become a model across the West to increase cooperation and coordination on wildfires," Cortez Masto said. "Gov. Steve Sisolak and our Legislature made terrific progress in our last legislative session by creating an interim committee dedicated to studying wildfire reduction and early responses to fires."

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