Western senators introduce bill to create national Wildfire Intelligence Center

from U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, John Hickenlooper, Steve Daines, and Tim Sheehy

As Southern California rebuilds from devastating fires, four Western senators announced bipartisan legislation to create a national Wildfire Intelligence Center to streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combat wildfires.

A national Wildfire Intelligence Center would compile comprehensive information on wildfires to better inform and streamline wildfire responses and recovery by providing states with a central command within the federal government. This center would also increase monitoring and imaging capabilities that land management agencies currently cannot achieve.

“The devastating Southern California fires are the latest example of increasingly intense and frequent fires ravaging communities within both local jurisdictions and on federal land,” said Sen. Alex Padilla. “Wildfires don’t distinguish between our boundaries, and we can’t afford to be siloed in our response. The scale of the wildfire crisis demands a singular, whole-of-government wildfire intelligence center to foster cross-agency collaboration and save lives.”

“As fire season rapidly approaches for Montana, we need all hands on deck to prevent catastrophic disasters. Sharing information and resources between agencies will undoubtedly help Montana communities take preventive measures and better combat fires and coordinate response efforts,” said Sen. Steve Daines.

“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,” said Sen. Tim Sheehy. “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.” 

“Wildfires don’t care about state lines or Forest Service boundaries,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper. “A centralized wildfire intelligence center will speed our response to fires and promote cross-agency collaboration to tackle them.”

At the federal level, various departments and agencies have their own fire management goals, firefighters, and jurisdictions on which they respond to fires. The current division of responsibilities leaves gaps for cross-department collaboration and is unnecessarily burdensome.

The joint office, created between the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior, would facilitate coordination and information sharing across federal and state departments and agencies, tribal entities, academia, and the private sector on wildland fires.

“The Wildfire Intelligence Center established by this bill will harness cutting-edge technology to give decision-makers real-time insights across jurisdictions and landscapes, enhancing coordination at every stage of a fire. The tools to tackle the megafire crisis already exist — this bill brings us closer to putting them in the hands of firefighters and land managers where they can make a real impact,” said Matt Weiner, CEO of Megafire Action. The senators “understand the urgent need to modernize our wildfire management system, and we look forward to working with them to get this bill signed into law and turn that vision into reality.”

“FAS applauds (the senators) for introducing this bill, which would take a crucial step forward in protecting our communities from increasingly severe wildfires. The Wildfire Intelligence Center would bring together expertise at all levels of government to give our firefighters and first responders access to cutting-edge tools and the decision support they need to confront this growing crisis,” said James Campbell, wildfire policy specialist at the Federation of American Scientists.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association supports the Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act, said David A. Sampson, APCIA president and CEO. “This bill reflects the bipartisan recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission to create a joint interagency center to improve fire assessment and prediction in the wildland and built environment. With the risk of catastrophic wildfires increasing, Congress must take action to pass bills like this one that will lead to better land and fuels management, reduce risk to communities, and improve fire management and response.” 

Advances in wildfire technology hold great promise, however available technological services are highly fragmented across more than 50 federal programs. Simply put, the technology is available, but the government currently lacks the ability to get these tools in the hands of those who desperately need it, when they need it. The Wildfire Intelligence Center will leverage cutting-edge technology and improve the effectiveness of the many entities engaged in wildfire work.

Specifically, the Wildfire Intelligence Center would study, coordinate, and implement fire suppression and mitigation strategies among the Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior departments, including providing comprehensive assessment and modeling of wildfires to inform response, risk reduction, land and fuels management, post-wildfire recovery, and rehabilitation.

This center would be modeled after similar information sharing centers like the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Water Center, which coordinate information sharing to educate people, improve understanding, and foster collaboration amongst various federal, state, and academic units.

The Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act is endorsed by Megafire Action, Federation of American Scientists, Association of FireTech Innovation, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience, Climate and Wildfire Institute, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, The Stewardship Project, Tall Timbers, Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, American Forests, Environmental Defense Fund, and American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

The full text of the bill is available here.