Trump Administration Proposes Unified Federal Wildland Firefighting Agency
In a significant shift in federal firefighting strategy, the Trump administration has proposed consolidating wildland firefighting efforts across various U.S. agencies into a single entity. This move, according to former federal officials, could potentially heighten the risk of devastating fires and lead to increased costs.
The proposed budget by President Trump aims to streamline firefighting operations by merging efforts currently managed by five agencies and two Cabinet departments into a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Interior Department. This adjustment would involve the transfer of numerous personnel from the U.S. Forest Service, a key player in federal firefighting, into the new agency, just as the fire season is underway. The budget documents, however, do not specify the financial implications of such a merger.
Previously, the Trump administration had halted funding for wildfire mitigation and significantly reduced the number of federal firefighters across agencies. Such measures led to a loss of over 1,600 Forest Service firefighters and hundreds more at the Interior Department, as reported by the National Association of Forest Service Retirees and Democratic lawmakers.
The restructuring proposal comes amid heightened fire risks due to climate change, which exacerbates fire severity by increasing temperatures and drying out the landscape. Last year alone, more than 65,000 wildfires scorched nearly 9 million acres in the U.S.
During a House Appropriations Committee session, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum expressed support for the new fire service, stating, “We want more firefighters on the front lines and less people trying to make manual decisions on how to allocate resources and personnel. We’ve got duplicative and ineffective structures that could be improved.”
However, firefighting organizations and former Forest Service leaders argue that restructuring would incur high costs and disrupt operations during the critical fire season. They caution that the focus might shift from fire prevention methods, like forest thinning and controlled burns, to merely extinguishing fires, which could be counterproductive.
Steve Ellis, chairman of the Forest Service retirees group and a former wildfire incident commander, remarked, “You will not suppress your way to success in dealing with catastrophic fires. It’s going to create greater risk and it’s going to be particularly chaotic if you implement it going into fire season.”
The retiree group, including several former Forest Service chiefs, warned lawmakers that consolidating firefighting functions might “increase the likelihood of more large catastrophic fires, putting more communities, firefighters and resources at risk.”
Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology compared the separation of the Forest Service’s firefighting duties from land management to “separating conjoined twins — it would basically kill the agency.”
Federal officials anticipate another severe fire season this year, with temperatures predicted to be above normal across much of the nation. Already, over 1 million acres have burned in 2025, impacting states such as Arizona, Minnesota, California, and others.
The proposal has garnered some bipartisan support, with California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla and Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy backing similar legislation. Notably, Sheehy, prior to his election, founded an aerial firefighting company heavily reliant on federal contracts.
A 2008 Congressional Research Service report on a similar merger proposal found potential drawbacks, noting that a “wildfire agency would likely focus on fire control,” potentially neglecting activities aimed at reducing damages, such as protecting structures and reducing biomass fuels.
Despite potential legislative hurdles, Burgum indicated plans to work with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to coordinate firefighting efforts for the current season.
Earlier cuts to the Forest Service workforce occurred alongside efforts by billionaire Elon Musk to reduce federal spending, resulting in layoffs of at least 1,000 National Park Service workers. Public outcry and a court order eventually reinstated many of these workers, though Democratic lawmakers argue the current staffing levels remain insufficient.
As of early May, the Forest Service had approximately 9,450 wildland firefighters, with a goal of reaching 11,300 by mid-July. The Interior Department employs about 6,700 wildland firefighters distributed across its agencies, including the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management.
State officials in Washington and Oregon have expressed concern about the loss of federal workers essential for wildfire planning, as the administration has not disclosed exact figures regarding layoffs and rehirings.
In a related action, the Trump administration recently eased environmental regulations on logging projects across more than half of U.S. national forests, a move covering 176,000 square miles primarily in the West but also in other regions. Most of these forests are at high risk of wildfires and are suffering from insect and disease-related declines.
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