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On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring a consolidation of several wildland firefighting programs in the next 90 days, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic wildfires heading into peak season.
Firefighting efforts are currently split among five agencies and two cabinet departments—the Interior department and the Department of Agriculture. The order aims to centralize these efforts, which would require shifting thousands of personnel from the Forest Service to this new agency with wildfire season already underway.
Trump's order came just hours after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum admitted to Congress that he has no idea how many ‘red card’ certified wildfire support staff are left at the Interior department.
The order also comes just days after the U.S. Forest Service chief asked employees who took the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer to come back for the wildfire season.
“If President Trump was serious about improving the nation’s wildland firefighting capabilities, he would stop hollowing out the agencies tasked with fighting wildfires and prioritize the climate and weather science that firefighters need to analyze risk,” said Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss. “This executive order is nothing more than a performative gesture that will cause chaos just as wildfire risk is ramping up in the West.”
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We need to think about what we [are] leaving for future generations. Ensuring that people can access their public land is something that I am dedicated to doing.”
