President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to consolidate the nation’s wildland fire programs.
Trump’s executive order, focused on “empowering commonsense wildfire prevention and response,” also instructed the departments and all agencies represented by the National Interagency Fire Center to increase wildland firefighting capabilities at the state and local levels, including through the use of artificial intelligence, data sharing, and mapping capabilities.
“Wildfires threaten every region, yet many local government entities continue to disregard commonsense preventative measures,” Trump’s order said. “Firefighters across the country are forced to rely on outdated technology and face challenges in quickly responding to wildfires because of unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy.”
The “consolidation” mentioned in the order is reminiscent of a push started earlier this year by Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana and Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California to create a single wildland firefighting agency, dubbed the “National Wildland Fire Service.” A Senate bill directed the two departments to reorganize wildfire response nationwide into the new agency.
Advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefights supports the consolidation, saying they’ve advocated for a National Wildland Fire Service since the group was founded in 2019.
“This is a historic day in the modernization of our National Wildland Fire Service,” the group told WildfireToday. “After we digest, interpret, and understand this EO, we will have more to say. We will continue to support public lands and public land management, public land agencies, and all public servants.”
READ MORE: ‘National Wildland Fire Service,’ federal firefighter consolidation push kicked off by U.S. senators
The order also instructs Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to modify or rescind “Federal rules or policies that impede the use of appropriate, preventative prescribed fires.” Zeldin previously signaled the EPA was in the process of changing the agency’s decade-old Exceptional Events Rule to expand the legal ability to set prescribed burns.
The rule has long held prescribed burning in a gray area. The policy allows states to be exempt from meeting national air quality standards during “exceptional events,” or times of high pollution readings that states can’t control, like wildfires. However, a study published in February said prescribed fires may not always meet the exemption.
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7 Comments
Great time to start this absolute madness…..during the ramp up to what should be an crazy summer
Good luck with this _____show
Those common sense preventitve measures for wildland fire cost money. Perhaps the President should pay for his own golfing trips and the military parade and use that money to pay for more firefighters!
I think I actually agree with this. Should not be limited to NIFC agencies, but all agencies (USACE, Military lands, etc). How do state fire agencies fall into this order?
Maybe nothing changes or a full re do of MOUs/MOAs with Cooperators Agreements with State Foresters
So is this the start of giving all Federal lands in California to CALFIRE. As that will be the cheapest option.
There, that takes care of wildfires. Next, I’ll solve homelessness.
Sometimes “outdated technology” can be cost-effective.Currently staffing a fire tower, w/a many decades-old, minimally modified, Osborne Fire-Finder.The device requires no batteries, and is easy & accurate to use mapping locations of fires.
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