Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6365) to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way for an emergency exit on certain National Park Service land in the State of Virginia, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6365, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6365, the Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act, introduced by Representative John McGuire of Virginia.

This bill accomplishes something very simple and very important. It directs the Department of the Interior to issue a narrow right-of-way so the Wintergreen community in Virginia can complete an emergency-only evacuation route.

Wintergreen is a mountain community located near the Blue Ridge Parkway, with one road in and one road out. That single access point serves year-round residents, seasonal visitors, and first responders.

Over the past decade, the community has grown from 150 to 500 residents, not including seasonal visitors, and the risk tied to having only one exit has grown along with it.

In recent years, we have seen what happens when communities lack sufficient options to escape during emergencies. Fires in places like Paradise, California, and Lahaina, Hawaii, demonstrate how quickly evacuation routes can become overwhelmed and congested, endangering residents and first responders alike.

For Wintergreen, this is not about building a new public road. The community is proposing a second, emergency-only route that follows an existing dirt path on National Park Service land. It would only require a short 30 feet of gravel to make the road useable for emergency vehicles.

The community has already built the road on non-Federal land and has spent years working through the Federal process. The only remaining piece is a small segment on Federal land that cannot move forward under current National Park Service regulations.

H.R. 6365 offers a straightforward solution by directing the Secretary of the Interior to issue this vital right-of-way after required reviews are completed and reported to Congress. This is a targeted fix to a real safety problem. Representative McGuire's legislation improves evacuation planning, helps first responders, and does so with very minimal impact to Federal land.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative McGuire for his leadership on this issue and advocacy on behalf of his constituents. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McGuire), the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank Representative McGuire for his leadership on the Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act. Again, the bill addresses a clear safety risk with a narrow 30-foot-wide easement and a practical solution.

It allows a small emergency-only connection to move forward, while keeping environmental reviews and oversight in place. This will help keep every resident and tourist who appreciates the beauty of Wintergreen, Virginia, safe in the event of a natural disaster.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6365, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 6365, the Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act.

Wintergreen, Virginia, is a popular tourist destination located in my district. Wintergreen is one of the largest planned communities in Virginia, with over 3,000 properties situated on 11,000 acres. The risk of wildfires was not top of mind when this mountaintop community was designed in the 1970s.

The original developers did not reserve an emergency egress corridor before conveying a few thousand acres of unneeded land to the Appalachian Trail commission. Because of this, Wintergreen only has one entrance and one exit route.

As awareness of wildfire risk grew, the community of Wintergreen was placed on the Virginia Department of Forestry's radar as a wildland- urban interface community with a high risk of a devastating fire. Since becoming aware of the increased risk of wildfire, the community has worked steadily to mitigate that risk. However, an emergency egress is still needed.

For over 25 years, and working with five other Members of Congress, the Wintergreen community has fought to complete an emergency evacuation route. The town of Wintergreen has already constructed all portions of the road that are not on Federal land. Unfortunately, the only thing that has stood in their way all these years is a small section of land controlled by the National Park Service, approximately 400 feet, that separates the unfinished road from being connected to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The recent wildfires in California and Maui highlight the danger posed by limited evacuation routes. People lost their lives in those fires because they were trapped in their vehicles with no way to escape.

My bill is a proactive response to the very real threat to public safety that the town of Wintergreen currently faces if it needed to evacuate due to a natural disaster. We cannot wait until a tragedy occurs to make a change. Public safety and lives are at risk.

The Wintergreen community, including Chief Curtis Sheets of Wintergreen Fire and Rescue, has spent over 25 years fighting for the completion of this emergency evacuation route. I am proud to assist the entire Wintergreen community in continuing and finishing this fight.

I am proud to have bipartisan support of seven of my colleagues in the Virginia delegation. This bill is not political. It is a commonsense solution that is vital to preventing a tragedy in my district.

I thank Chairman Westerman for his friendship and leadership in helping me address this important issue for my district, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 6365.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Wintergreen, Virginia, is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, next to the popular Wintergreen Resort. It has a year-round population of 500 and a seasonal peak of almost 10,000. However, Wintergreen has only one road that leads in and out of the community and in an emergency situation, this is a major safety risk that could be catastrophic for Wintergreen's residents and visitors.

H.R. 6365 addresses this problem by allowing a 400-foot-long single- lane gravel road connecting Wintergreen to the Blue Ridge Parkway, providing a secondary exit route in the case of an emergency.

After completing the relevant environmental reviews, the National Park Service will be authorized to issue a right-of-way for the road.

This is a commonsense bill that will improve public safety and make minimal changes to the surrounding and natural area. I extend my gratitude to Representative McGuire and the Senators from Virginia for introducing this legislation to help Wintergreen's residents and visitors.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 6365, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.