‘National Wildland Fire Service,’ federal firefighter consolidation push kicked off by U.S. senators

Two U.S. senators are pushing to consolidate the nation’s wildland firefighting force into a single agency.

Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana and Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California recently introduced a Senate bill that would create the “National Wildland Fire Service.” The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to reorganize federal wildland fire response nationwide, create a Director of the National Wildland Firefighting Service position, and develop a description for the new agency.

“The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this Act as the ‘Secretaries’) shall jointly develop a plan to consolidate the authorities of the Secretaries relating to Federal wildland fire preparedness, suppression, and recovery efforts under an agency of the Department of the Interior, to be known as the ‘National Wildland Firefighting Service’,” the bill’s text reads.

Click here for the full text of the bill.

Firefighters air tanker
Firefighters observe a retardant drop by an RJ85 air tanker. DOI photo.

Sheehy and Padilla also recently introduced legislation to create a “National Wildfire Intelligence Center” modeled after the National Weather Service to coordinate fire response across federal and state institutions. The Senators called the current system “unnecessarily burdensome,” and said this bill would close gaps in federal response, as multiple agencies currently have their own fire management goals, firefighters, and jurisdictions.

“There is established in the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior a joint office, to be known as the ‘Wildfire Intelligence Center’…serving as the development and operational center for the comprehensive assessment and prediction of fires that occur in the wildland and fires that move into the built environment to provide decision support services to inform land and fuels management, community outreach and risk reduction, post-wildfire recovery and rehabilitation, and fire management,” the bill’s text read.

Sheehy, before becoming a senator, founded Bridger Aerospace, which operates the largest private Super Scooper fleet in the US, according to its website.  He said the acts would streamline resources for wildland fire events.

“We can all agree that the federal government must do a better job protecting our people, property, public lands, and communities from wildfires, and this bill will go a long way in streamlining our wildland firefighting efforts and best leveraging all available resources to accomplish our shared mission,” Sheehy said. “As the only aerial firefighter in the Senate, I’m proud to be working with folks on both sides of the aisle to deliver commonsense solutions to more effectively fight the devastating threat of wildfires and protect the American people.”

Firefighters suppressing the Mosquito Fire
Firefighters suppressing the Mosquito Fire off Michigan Bluff Road, Sept. 7, 2022. Credit- Robert Foxworthy, CAL FIRE.

The Grassroots Wildland Firefighters advocacy group applauded the move to establish a National Wildland Fire Service, saying the creation of such an agency has been its goal since it began.

“This new agency would consolidate all wildland fire management responsibilities from the five separate federal land management agencies (US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs) into a single, cohesive agency,” the advocacy group said. “The new agency should be a comprehensive wildland fire management agency directly under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and should be run by experienced wildland fire practitioners and managers. We are optimistic about the discussion this new legislation will generate, but there are few specifics on how it will be implemented.”

The group said the agency’s creation would streamline response to wildfire events, prioritize the safety of wildland firefighters, and efficiently provide cost-savings to American taxpayers.

The “National Wildland Fire Service” bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on Feb. 6. The “Wildfire Intelligence Center” bill was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry also on Feb. 6.

New strategy needed for extreme wildfires

This article first appeared in Wildfire magazine.

The author, Rick McRae, argues that the impacts of climate change must be better included in wildfire management strategies. McRae is an adjunct professor with the Bushfire Research Group at UNSW Canberra.

After a career as an ecologist, senior emergency manager, and bushfire scientist I have a particular view of where climate change is taking us; it is fundamentally based on Australian conditions, but I have an international perspective that is both operational and scientific. A lot of people say a lot about this problem, but too many are saying different things. Who does one listen to, especially if you enjoy your comfort zone? You may disagree with my views, but rather than dismiss them, start a conversation with your colleagues and think about how what I am saying might affect both them and your collective goals. My career and my research has all been aimed at reducing wildfire risks. Here I simplify some topics, and omit a lot of necessary technical detail, but I completely support the outline that I present.

The global collective of fire management wisdom is clearly focused on a fuel-oriented path forward in the face of climate change. The Landscape Fire Governance Framework that arose from the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference in Oporto in May 2023 is the latest element of a global framework. The framework states that fires are getting worse due to a combination of too much wildfire suppression, a lack of investment in fire management, and changes to how communities handle fire on the landscape. A common theme in discussions is the need for more fuel management, either through more fuel reduction burning or a switch to Indigenous practices.

To this end, planning typically includes a focus on risk reduction through hazard reduction via fuel management. Training, equipment, and systems are focused on this system, matched by budget allocations. Satellites show that certain countries produce a lot of smoke from this risk-reduction effort. For normal wildfires, fire services and their communities do a very good job mitigating the risk. (Can this ever be enough?) Climate change is increasing fire danger as the world warms up, and fire services and land managers are correctly adapting to the heightened risks.

At the same time, the world is being severely affected by what are called extreme wildfires, which dangerously couple with the atmosphere above.

It is critical to correctly use the terms normal and extreme: normal fires spread by quasi steady state fire behaviour – if you know the fuel and the terrain, then you largely know what the fire will do; extreme wildfires have one or more blow-up fire events (BUFEs), where the fire couples with the atmosphere and exhibits dynamic fire behaviour, which often involves feedback loops and so the details are largely unpredictable. Figure 1 shows their relationship.

For BUFEs, there is no explicit role for fuel load (beyond the need for a prior fire), indicating that fuel management – central to the framework – is unlikely to be an effective preventative action. We do, however, need to explore how fuel management can be targeted to prevent future dynamic fire escalation. Extreme wildfires do not occur in flashy fuels such as most grasslands: they are mainly a problem in forests and woodlands and they have, in recent years, occurred in new ecosystems (discussed below). (See figure 2.)

When an extreme wildfire couples with the atmosphere after being triggered by dynamic fire behaviour, a BUFE occurs, lasting up to three hours, and typically burning 50 to 100 square kilometres (20 to 40 square miles). With little opportunity for fire suppression the only real incident objective is to save lives. Saving structures may put fire crews at risk for little return. This minority of fires cause the majority of damage.

Figure 1. The relationship between the fire drivers for normal wildfires with quasi-steady state behaviour and the fire drivers for extreme wildfires with dynamic behaviour. The left is quasi-deterministic while the right involves unpredictable feedback loops.

The incident action plan for affected sectors and divisions during a BUFE looks very different to that for a normal fire. Locally appropriate strategies and tactics need to be formulated to help save lives.

There is an archive of decades of high-quality satellite data that is informing many aspects of the challenges associated with extreme fires; it will become increasingly important that we get the full leverage off the datasets involved. The complexity of the changes already underway can be overwhelming. It will be important for end users to make clear what their needs are, and for them to accept the answers produced.

While many authors have used forward-looking climate models to anticipate how climate change will impact fire risks, observations are now showing a far more alarming picture overall.

Fire thunderstorms, called pyroCbs, are the most obvious manifestation of extreme wildfires. A recent study found that there has been no recent global trend in the frequency of pyroCbs. Global pyroCb activity has always been dominated by fires in and around Boreal forests. However, areas such as Australia, South Africa, South America, and the Mediterranean have only recently started having problems with extreme wildfire. Canada, in 2023, experienced the most protracted ever season for extreme wildfires, globally. Australia’s Black Summer was just as prominent with record breaking intensities.

Figure 2. The drivers of fire risk. The “depleted” column is where dynamic fires usually occur.

An important step must follow on from recognition of the wildfire-type dichotomy: operational doctrine must be revisited. As an example, in Australia, the national doctrine for operations in the urban interface lacks any dynamic fire behaviour elements. This document is founded on decades or experience during fire fighting and is state of the art – for normal fires only. What is different? When a BUFE arrives at the urban interface, it is characterised by: (1) a lack of a headfire, with a switch to dense spotting, and a high chance of loss of overall situational awareness; (2) an ember storm (a sea of flowing pea-sized embers flowing over the ground), which is very different to typical ember attack (which is more like a mortar attack); (3) strong turbulence; (4) a darkened sky; and (5) much deeper penetration of the urban edge. Air ops are likely to be impeded.

Also, standard doctrine is often founded on past damaging fires, but key lessons from previous events may need revisiting if, as is often the case, those fires were driven by processes subsequently discovered, such as the key elements of dynamic fire behaviour.

Several past landmark fires have featured descriptions of the fire spreading sideways on the lee face of a ridge. We have seen this in news footage, with chief officers waving their hands sideways during media briefings, or even in official post incident reports. After being identified in 2003 in the Canberra fires, a scientifically validated concept called Vorticity-driven Lateral Spread (VLS) is now known to be the cause. VLS is by far the main cause of forest fire damage in rugged landscapes, globally. Fire service operations based on key lessons learned need to adapt to this. A lookout at a fire where VLS might occur has to be trained to look to the rear at certain landform elements, as opposed to the prior practice of focusing on the headfire. To avoid VLS-driven BUFEs, it may sometimes be an option to burn-out VLS prone areas ahead of the main fire when fuels are too damp to support spotting. Another key instance of the need to rethink is that dynamic fire behaviour is often associated with large air tanker accidents. Climate change is leading to large aircraft flying out of aviation weather into fire weather while climate change is turbo-charging weather close to the ground.

It used to be that different countries had different types of fire, and therefore different operational approaches. Climate change is reducing these differences. I identified a fire near Canberra in 2004 as being foehn-wind driven. Some time after that my collaborators and I wrote a paper on this, introducing Australian firefighters to an idea that has long been a mainstay of training in North America and the Mediterranean Basin. Over the following decade we found only a few good cases of local foehn-wind driven fires. Then during Black Summer, with hundreds of BUFEs, perhaps 50 per cent of those were of this type. That is a massive escalation.

These changes clearly suggest that the world needs a multi-pronged adaptation strategy to climate change’s impacts on wildfire risk. The strategy for normal fire is well understood and must be implemented and continually improved upon. The strategy works better than is acknowledged, because the metrics for success were developed using data from both types of fire. The inclusion of dynamic events with bad outcomes biases the outlook.

In passing, a serious issue arising from lumping all fires together is the mis-training of artificial intelligence and machine learning systems being developed to help mitigate bushfire risks. Just because a fire was attributed as something in a database 25 years ago does not mean that that is correct in today’s thinking. Climate change will not be forgiving to field crews using poor intelligence.

A new strategy is required for rapid adaptation to extreme wildfires. The ongoing escalation suggests a need for the multi-pronged approach to be created as quickly as possible. I have developed a framework for predicting dynamic fire events in the forests of south-east Australia, which aims to show the potential for new thinking (Figure 3). The framework seeks to predict BUFE events using hydrology, remote sensing, and fire ground data in a multi-scaled way.

For the adaptation strategy to work it is necessary to define the following: ownership (by a global body); working membership; protocols; data and accounting needs; professional development protocols; and dissemination channels.

The mandate for climate change adaptation for wildfires might include:

  • Focussing on extreme wildfires (to complement on-going collaboration on normal wildfires);
  • Defining, owning, and disseminating research goals;
  • Providing a hub for research outcomes;
  • Providing a forum for international exchange of relevant operational lessons;
  • Maintaining a global overview of wildfire problems and tracking the overview’s evolution;
  • Rapidly disseminating new information or certified lessons from major fire events.

Figure 3. Two decades of predictive analysis on the potential for pyroCbs in the forests of southeast Australia. PyroCbs (red bars) occur when alerts are generated by the system, either due to temperature anomolies (green bars) or landscape hydrology (blue bars). The orange line clearly shows the impacts of climate change on air temperatures in Canberra, while the purple line shows a more worrying trend for offshore sea-surface temperatures. The difference between the two sets of 12-month average anomalies – the Canberra Dipole (black line) – is critical for BUFE potential. At the peak of Black Summer, Canberra had an extraordinary 12-month average temperature anomaly of 3C. Similar frameworks could work elsewhere.

Students of the evolution of wildfire can look at the references cited in many new wildfire papers and see – from the references alone – where the paper was written and what technical specialty it is from (for both the authors and the journal). However, this Fire Tower of Babel situation is not good enough. In a similar vein, if we are to collaborate on these problems, we must standardise the terminology. The use of alternative terms, and the widespread misuse of others does nothing to aid adaptation –foundation terms such as pyroCb or megafire are key examples – and surely reinforces the previously mentioned issue with the training of machine learning systems.

The wildland fire sector needs to stop being overly distracted by fuel loads, otherwise we will all be affected by extreme wildfires and their impacts on ecosystems, communities, soils, hydrology, biodiversity, traditional practices, and the upper atmosphere – including the ozone layer.

Rick McRae served as a headquarters technical specialist in what evolved to become the ACT Emergency Services Agency in Canberra from 1989 until his recent retirement. He worked in business planning, arson investigation, multi-hazard risk assessment, as planning officer for major incidents, weather specialist, and as a research scientist focusing on extreme wildfires, and especially pyroCbs. McRae has conducted case studies, described new phenomena, and developed predictive tools. He maintains a website that aims to present operationally useful material on extreme wildfires: https://www.highfirerisk.com.au/.

McRae is an adjunct professor with the Bushfire Research Group at University of New South Wales Canberra.

LA wildfires fully contained, donations still open

Los Angeles’ historic Palisades and Eaton fires are fully contained after nearly a month of burning, according to CalFire officials. The cause of the fires is still under investigation.

“The conditions, that night, were unbearable,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during an interview with 60 Minutes. “It was a devil wind that came out, you know, that extreme Santa Ana wind condition.”

In the wake of the devastation Governor Gavin Newsome signed a $2.5 billion aid package to help the city rebuild, while numerous fundraisers opened with a range of objectives. The massive FireAid concert and the fundraiser linked to the Grammy Awards are hoping to raise over $100 million and $24 million respectively, according to the Associated Press and Variety.

Palisades Fire via Cal Fire

Numerous other relief efforts are underway, including:

  • GoFundMe – A verified fundraiser page for many affected by the wildfires.
  • The American Red Cross – Wildfire donation page that includes help to shelter families, serve meals, and support emergency responders.
  • The LA Regional Food Bank – Wildfire update page where people can make donations, receive updates, and make food donations.
  • The Salvation Army – A verified relief page for all those affected by the wildfires.
  • Direct Relief – The California-based disaster relief and medical assistance organization has a donation page for all those affected by the wildfires.
  • World Central Kitchen – An organization that provides fresh meals to communities in need has a donation page for all those affected by the wildfires.
  • SPCA LA – A donation page for helping animals in the wake of disaster.
  • Pasadena Humane Society – wildfire donation page for helping animals in the wake of disaster.

EPA begins ‘largest wildfire hazardous material removal’ in agency history

More than 13,000 residential and 250 commercial structures in the Los Angeles area were affected by the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Officials are now kicking off the largest cleanup of hazardous material from a wildfire in agency history.

The agency announced on Monday that it has deployed 1,050 response personnel into the area, up from the 478 personnel in the field last week. The EPA also announced it has begun assembling 60 teams to clear hazardous materials from the remaining properties, all at no cost to residents.

“We’re not going to wait days or weeks or months to ramp up,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a press release. “We have over a thousand personnel on the ground to aid Californiansand our local, state, and federal partners, in Los Angeles’s recovery. The Trump administration is tackling this head-on in a way that EPA couldn’t possibly be prouder to be a part of.”

Eaton Fire via CalFire

EPA said its first priority is removing lithium-ion batteries in the area affected by the wildfire and properly disposing of them. Many homes in the burned areas had energy storage systems and/or electric hybrid vehicles, and the agency has reportedly removed 80 of them burned or destroyed in the fire.

“Residents returning home are encouraged to exercise extreme caution and can call our hotline at 1-833-798-7372 if they encounter a lithium-ion battery while re-entering their property and/or are unsure if a lithium-ion battery was damaged,” the EPA said.

The agency, in the cleanup’s second phase, will remove debris in the fires’ burn footprints so the material isn’t released into the environment. Phase 2 will primarily be conducted by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The material that will be removed includes:

  • Paints
  • Cleaning supplies
  • Automotive oils
  • Garden products such as herbicides and pesticides
  • Batteries
  • Propane tanks and other pressurized gas containers

Legal frameworks for firefighters

The laws to protect firefighters are designed to provide a degree of comfort and certainty to those who are out there doing their job in an uncomfortable and uncertain environment. And there is no shortage of law firms looking for new work to ensure firefighters get the support they need. Jackson Ruby, a freelance writer for a California law firm, provides an overview of the legal frameworks that protect firefighters in legal actions.

Firefighters protect lives, property, and the environment from fire, medical emergencies, and disasters. Given their work’s high-risk and fast-paced nature, firefighters often make split-second decisions under extreme conditions. To enable them to perform their duties effectively without undue fear of legal repercussions, various legal frameworks have been established to protect them from lawsuits arising from their actions during an emergency response.

Sovereign Immunity and Qualified Immunity
One of the most significant legal doctrines protecting firefighters is sovereign immunity, which protects government entities and their employees from certain types of lawsuits. Sovereign immunity often extends to firefighters who work for municipal or state governments, protecting them from liability for acts performed within the scope of their employment.
In addition, firefighters in the United States may be protected by qualified immunity, which shields government employees from personal liability unless their actions violate “clearly established” statutory or constitutional rights. Qualified immunity ensures that firefighters are not deterred from performing their duties due to fear of litigation, as long as they act in good faith and within the boundaries of the law.

Good Samaritan Laws
Good Samaritan laws provide immunity from lawsuits to individuals, including firefighters, who render emergency aid in good faith and without gross negligence. For example, if a firefighter administers CPR or uses a defibrillator on an unresponsive person, they are typically protected from legal claims even if the outcome is unfavorable. These laws encourage quick action in emergencies by reducing the risk of legal consequences for well-intentioned efforts.

Statutory Protections
Many states have enacted specific statutes that protect firefighters from lawsuits arising from their official duties. These statutes often provide immunity for discretionary acts performed in the line of duty. For instance, decisions about how to suppress a fire, prioritize rescues, or deploy resources are generally considered discretionary and thus protected. However, these protections usually do not extend to acts of gross negligence, willful misconduct, or actions outside the scope of employment.

Workers’ Compensation Laws
Firefighters who are injured or killed in the line of duty are typically covered under workers’ compensation laws. These laws ensure that injured firefighters or their families receive medical benefits and compensation without the need to prove fault. Workers’ compensation also serves as the exclusive remedy for workplace injuries, preventing lawsuits against employers or coworkers for workplace-related incidents.

Federal Law Protections
Federal laws also play a role in shielding firefighters from legal repercussions. For example, the Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) provides immunity to volunteers, including volunteer firefighters, from liability for harm caused by their actions while performing duties for a nonprofit organization or government entity. The VPA encourages community service by reducing legal risks for volunteers.
Additionally, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) allows lawsuits against federal employees under certain conditions but provides immunity for discretionary acts performed within the scope of employment. This framework can apply to federal firefighters working for agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service.

Collective Bargaining Agreements and Union Protections
Many firefighters are represented by unions that negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) on their behalf. These agreements often include provisions related to legal representation, indemnification, and procedural protections in cases of lawsuits or disciplinary actions. For example, a firefighter accused of negligence may receive legal defense funded by their employer or union, as stipulated in the CBA.

Limits and Accountability
While legal frameworks provide robust protections for firefighters, they are not absolute. Protections generally do not cover acts of gross negligence, intentional harm, or criminal misconduct. For instance, a firefighter who intentionally sets a fire or acts recklessly, endangering lives, can face legal and criminal consequences. This balance ensures that accountability is maintained while enabling firefighters to perform their duties without undue hesitation.
The legal frameworks protecting firefighters recognize the unique challenges and risks associated with their work. By providing immunity from lawsuits, these laws enable firefighters to act decisively and effectively in emergencies, knowing they are protected from undue legal repercussions. At the same time, these frameworks uphold accountability by excluding acts of gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing from protection. This balance is essential for maintaining public trust and ensuring that firefighters can focus on their critical mission of safeguarding lives and property.

In wake of deadly Lahaina wildfire, new Hawaii report sheds light on how to stop future tragedies

Hawaii officials have released their third and final report on Maui’s deadly Lahaina Fire in 2023, focusing on how each of Hawaii’s counties can prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

The Fire Safety Research Institute‘s “Lahaina Fire Forward-Looking Report” is phase three of a three-part investigation into the catastrophic wildfire. The group previously released the Lahaina Fire Comprehensive Timeline Report, which presents a chronology of the fire’s events, and the Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report, which looked into the systemic causes and response to the fire.

“It is vital to reiterate, as demonstrated throughout this report, that no single factor is, or set of factors are, directly responsible for the tragic outcome,” the Phase Three report said. “The preconditions for these fires have been in the making for decades, stemming from the changing landscape of Maui Nui, more frequent extreme weather events, and the increased frequency of vegetation-fueled fires. It is important to note these same conditions exist across the State of Hawaii, in numerous other locations throughout the United States, and around the globe.”

Maui fire aftermath, photo courtesy Governor Josh Green's office.
Maui fire aftermath, photo courtesy Governor Josh Green’s office.

The report identified 10 priorities for enhancing wildfire readiness throughout the state, the top two of which focused on establishing an Office of the State Fire Marshal and creating an action plan for future wildfire events through working with the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. The eight remaining priorities are focused on how the State Fire Marshal can implement said action plan, including:

  • Wildfire Education Programming
  • Communication Systems
  • Utilities Risk Reduction & Planning
  • Fire Weather
  • Evacuation
  • Codes & Standards
  • Wildfire Response Preparedness
  • Vegetation & Land Management

The report also breaks down how wildfire readiness can be enhanced at the county level, specifically through risk assessment and data-driven investment. The priorities were reviewed by each county fire chief, according to the researchers.

“This streamlined approach provides a clear roadmap for the counties to initiate progress and take the critical first steps necessary to establish a solid foundation that supports future meaningful improvements,” the researchers said.

Click here to read the full report.