The return of good fire: The Maidu reclaim an ancient tool to heal and protect land from wildfires
In Berry Creek, a 60-acre property burned to ash in the 2020 North Complex Fire has becoming something else: a place of restoration, healing and renewed purpose for local Maidu tribes.
Senate Republicans propose rescinding ‘roadless rule’ — by tacking it onto federal wildfire bill
A brief moment of bipartisanship in the U.S. Senate turned political on Wednesday, when Republican lawmakers introduced a new provision to a wildfire bill.
That bill, called the Wildfire Prevention Act, would mandate increasing prescribed fires and forest thinning in federal forests.
It had support of both Democrats and Republicans when it was first introduced before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year. That common ground evaporated after Senate Republicans attached a repeal of what’s known as the “the roadless rule” to the bill.
Trump is taking aim at forest and wildfire research just as the West is poised to burn
If Congress were to approve President Trump's proposed budget for the agency, the U.S. Forest Service would be a skeleton of its former self, just as climate change is accelerating the frequency and severity of wildfires in the U.S. The agency already lost thousands of staff last year to layoffs, buyouts and early retirement due to President Trump's DOGE team.
Westerners working at research universities are nervous, as are people in small towns that depend on the USFS for everything from jobs to fighting fires to forecasting smoke.
Mike Lee ignites controversy after adding roadless rule repeal to a wildfire bill
Utah Sen. Mike Lee and fellow Republicans added a repeal of the controversial roadless rule to a previously bipartisan wildfire bill on Wednesday.
The amended Wildfire Prevention Act passed out of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on an 11-9 vote split along party lines and now heads to the full Senate. The act would nullify the 2001 roadless rule, which prevents logging and roadbuilding on nearly 59 million acres of national forest land, including roughly 4 million acres in Utah.
Planned forest fires have wider benefits than previously thought
Setting intentional forest fires and letting other low-severity ones burn can significantly lower the chances of extreme blazes torching those same areas in the future, according to a new study released Thursday, while reducing toxic smoke over time.
Those controlled blazes, known as prescribed burns, can offer fire protection for more than a decade, the researchers found in a paper published in the journal Science. The findings are the latest in a robust body of research showing how managed fires can reduce the chances of megafires.
The winter’s snow drought is now a full-blown water crisis
Trump has long pushed for increased logging as a fire management tool, and this season will put that theory to the test. Experts warn that industrial-scale logging can’t significantly reduce wildfire threats.
“The type of drought we’re seeing this year across the West is a glimpse into the future,” Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, told Bloomberg Law. “Thinning and logging forests—that’s not going to control wildfires.”
A U.S. senator pushed to cut firefighting aircraft inspections the same month his former company failed one
A little over a year ago, Sen. Tim Sheehy floated an audacious proposal to reshape the way the federal government fights wildfires. It called for expanding the use of private planes and helicopters to quickly attack blazes while also eliminating the U.S. Forest Service’s rigorous airworthiness inspections for those aircraft.
The idea stood to benefit Sheehy, a Montana Republican, personally. Before running for Congress, he founded and ran an aerial firefighting company called Bridger Aerospace, which is known for its scoopers, aircraft built to retrieve water from lakes or oceans and drop it onto fires. Since 2021, the Forest Service has paid Bridger more than $235 million for use of its scoopers, according to public records.
US drought tests Trump strategy of logging to fight wildfire
Forest thinning can reduce wildfire intensity, severity, and spread even in extreme drought, but only if it’s done based on unique local conditions and is followed up with intentionally-set prescribed fire, said Tony Cheng, director of the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University.
“Logging on its own, without prescribed fire, can intensify fires if a lot of logging debris is left on site,” he said. “The most effective land treatment to limit the unwanted impacts of wildfire is, ironically, fire – prescribed fire or managed wildland fire.”
Trump repeals rules governing off-roading on public lands
“I think this is going to be the year,” warned Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. “The conditions are just ripe for some really bad outcomes.”
“I think this is going to be the year,” warned Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. “The conditions are just ripe for some really bad outcomes.”
Why Wildfire Experts Are So Worried About This Year’s Fire Season
Burgum’s previous efforts to centralize power at Interior drew complaints about the organizational chaos that followed: Some 5,000 staff were moved from the department’s component agencies to his office in May 2025, and almost 1,800 quit, retired or were pushed out afterward. That’s sparked concern about how smooth his overhaul of the department’s firefighting efforts will be.
“The bottom line is it’s disorganization,” said Ingalsbee.
Burgum’s previous efforts to centralize power at Interior drew complaints about the organizational chaos that followed: Some 5,000 staff were moved from the department’s component agencies to his office in May 2025, and almost 1,800 quit, retired or were pushed out afterward. That’s sparked concern about how smooth his overhaul of the department’s firefighting efforts will be.
“The bottom line is it’s disorganization,” said Ingalsbee.
Firefighter health is a top priority in the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service. What could that mean?
The Mountain West News Bureau’s wildfire reporter Murphy Woodhouse recently spoke at length with Chief Brian Fennessy, the inaugural head of the Department of Interior’s U.S. Wildland Fire Service.
A major theme of their conversation was firefighter health and well-being. Cancer and other long-term health risks are growing concerns in wildland fire, but so too are the high mental health tolls the work takes.
The Mountain West News Bureau’s wildfire reporter Murphy Woodhouse recently spoke at length with Chief Brian Fennessy, the inaugural head of the Department of Interior’s U.S. Wildland Fire Service.
A major theme of their conversation was firefighter health and well-being. Cancer and other long-term health risks are growing concerns in wildland fire, but so too are the high mental health tolls the work takes.
Forest Service delays public rollout of its proposed repeal of Roadless Rule
The documents were expected to be released earlier this year, according to the agency.
In April, and in the absence of public meetings, Oregon-based groups hosted town halls in Portland, Bend and Eugene. Nearly 100 people gathered at Gratitude Brewing in Eugene to hear from local advocates and leaders, including Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger.
During that event, organizers with Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, and Firefighters United for Safety Ethics and Ecology outlined how people could prepare to comment again, anticipating another public comment period would open soon.
The documents were expected to be released earlier this year, according to the agency.
In April, and in the absence of public meetings, Oregon-based groups hosted town halls in Portland, Bend and Eugene. Nearly 100 people gathered at Gratitude Brewing in Eugene to hear from local advocates and leaders, including Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger.
During that event, organizers with Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, and Firefighters United for Safety Ethics and Ecology outlined how people could prepare to comment again, anticipating another public comment period would open soon.
New burn bans and Trump's battle with immigration and DEI are impacting forest fires
Firefighters also indicated that a full suppression strategy was not supported by science or indigenous knowledge of how to protect land. A 2025 study found that during the 2020 fire season in California, areas that had been burned before experienced wildfires that were about 16% less severe, on average.
"It's in defiance of all that we have learned, decades of fire ecology research, all that indigenous people have shared with us about how they stewarded the land with fire," said Dr. Timothy Ingalsbee, a wildland fire ecologist and former Forest Service firefighter. "And so it's just very alarming."
Firefighters also indicated that a full suppression strategy was not supported by science or indigenous knowledge of how to protect land. A 2025 study found that during the 2020 fire season in California, areas that had been burned before experienced wildfires that were about 16% less severe, on average.
"It's in defiance of all that we have learned, decades of fire ecology research, all that indigenous people have shared with us about how they stewarded the land with fire," said Dr. Timothy Ingalsbee, a wildland fire ecologist and former Forest Service firefighter. "And so it's just very alarming."
Is a Perfect (Fire) Storm Brewing for 2026?
“There is a lack of will at the very top, especially in this administration,” says Ingalsbee. “It’s part of an ideology to make prescribed burning impossible so it makes commercial logging inevitable.”
“There is a lack of will at the very top, especially in this administration,” says Ingalsbee. “It’s part of an ideology to make prescribed burning impossible so it makes commercial logging inevitable.”
Viewpoint: What actually works — and what doesn’t — when managing wildfires
The good news is that we know what to do. Thin the understory. Conduct prescribed burns. Update building codes and zoning. Create real defensible space around homes. These are not partisan positions — they are the accumulated findings of decades of peer-reviewed research and on-the-ground experience.
The bad news is that more and more intense wildfires are coming regardless of what we do about carbon emissions in the next decade. We cannot apply 20th-century solutions to 21st-century fire. The forests around us are changing, the climate is changing, and our policies need to change with them — guided by evidence rather than ideology.
The good news is that we know what to do. Thin the understory. Conduct prescribed burns. Update building codes and zoning. Create real defensible space around homes. These are not partisan positions — they are the accumulated findings of decades of peer-reviewed research and on-the-ground experience.
The bad news is that more and more intense wildfires are coming regardless of what we do about carbon emissions in the next decade. We cannot apply 20th-century solutions to 21st-century fire. The forests around us are changing, the climate is changing, and our policies need to change with them — guided by evidence rather than ideology.
‘Scientifically inaccurate’: Wildland firefighters speak out against Roadless Rule repeal
While the USDA argues that the rollback will reduce the risk of wildfires, FUSEE says that is scientifically inaccurate.
“It is the professional opinion of the wildland firefighters who signed the letter that rescinding this rule will have the opposite effect,” FUSEE said in a press release announcing the letter.
While the USDA argues that the rollback will reduce the risk of wildfires, FUSEE says that is scientifically inaccurate.
“It is the professional opinion of the wildland firefighters who signed the letter that rescinding this rule will have the opposite effect,” FUSEE said in a press release announcing the letter.
Why a major reorganization at the Forest Service has people concerned
“I worry that I sound paranoid like a conspiracy theorist — why would anybody want to break a federal agency?” said Rich Fairbanks, a former Forest Service firefighter and board member of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. “But that’s exactly what they appear to be trying to do.”
“I worry that I sound paranoid like a conspiracy theorist — why would anybody want to break a federal agency?” said Rich Fairbanks, a former Forest Service firefighter and board member of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. “But that’s exactly what they appear to be trying to do.”
Record heat, zero rain, millions of acres lost: Experts warn wildfires are now America’s problem to survive
“We’re seeing a rapid increase in wildfire activity,” Ingalsbee told Fortune. “Wildfire has typically been perceived as just a western problem, but with climate change, it’s not just coast-to-coast. It’s global.”
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“Conceptually, unifying and consolidating the different resources, personnel, and communication systems makes perfect sense,” Ingalsbee said. But the agency’s blanket fire suppression policy might backfire by exhausting firefighters, he added, while also leaving more unburned vegetation to build up and risk causing an even more severe or fast-spreading fire.
“By August, fire crews are burned out, beat up, and banged up from constant mobilization, and so you’re expending all their energy early in the season on fires that don’t really require full suppression,” Ingalsbee said. “It’s a waste of their effort.”
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“This could be a historic wildfire year,” Ingalsbee said. “I don’t think people can count on Uncle Sam’s firefighting army coming to their defense. They’re going to have to prepare for fires on their own.”
A combination of drought, dense vegetation in vulnerable states, and the effects of climate change has brought on an unseasonably ferocious wildfire season to parts of the U.S., said Timothy Ingalsbee, a wildland fire ecologist and executive director of the non-profit Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. With the country’s firefighting services already strained, the devastation so far could be a prelude to an unusually intense summer as fires migrate west.
“We’re seeing a rapid increase in wildfire activity,” Ingalsbee told Fortune. “Wildfire has typically been perceived as just a western problem, but with climate change, it’s not just coast-to-coast. It’s global.”
…
“Conceptually, unifying and consolidating the different resources, personnel, and communication systems makes perfect sense,” Ingalsbee said. But the agency’s blanket fire suppression policy might backfire by exhausting firefighters, he added, while also leaving more unburned vegetation to build up and risk causing an even more severe or fast-spreading fire.
“By August, fire crews are burned out, beat up, and banged up from constant mobilization, and so you’re expending all their energy early in the season on fires that don’t really require full suppression,” Ingalsbee said. “It’s a waste of their effort.”
…
“This could be a historic wildfire year,” Ingalsbee said. “I don’t think people can count on Uncle Sam’s firefighting army coming to their defense. They’re going to have to prepare for fires on their own.”
As potentially significant season kicks off, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s first chief shares priorities
Even among critics, there’s respect for Fennessy’s experience, and hope that consolidation could bring positive changes. Timothy Ingalsbee, head of the wildfire advocacy group FUSEE, shares many of Stone-Manning and Calkin’s concerns, but called the new chief an “exceptional individual,” pointing to his significant leadership experience in both wildland and structure fire. Before taking the helm of the USWFS, Fennessy served as the chief of both San Diego and Orange County’s fire departments.
“He has a lot of trust amongst the crews,” Ingalsbee said. “The question is, ‘how much latitude does he have from the administration?’”
Even among critics, there’s respect for Fennessy’s experience, and hope that consolidation could bring positive changes. Timothy Ingalsbee, head of the wildfire advocacy group FUSEE, shares many of Stone-Manning and Calkin’s concerns, but called the new chief an “exceptional individual,” pointing to his significant leadership experience in both wildland and structure fire. Before taking the helm of the USWFS, Fennessy served as the chief of both San Diego and Orange County’s fire departments.
“He has a lot of trust amongst the crews,” Ingalsbee said. “The question is, ‘how much latitude does he have from the administration?’”
How Indigenous leaders are ‘carrying fire’ from Northwest history to the present
A soft rain fell around Joe Scott as he unwrapped the leather cord fastening halves of a mussel shell. Scott, an elder from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, packed each half of the shell with stringy willow wood — his insulation. He added chunks of smoldering fungus — his fuel. The small fire stayed lit, even when he closed the shell.
A soft rain fell around Joe Scott as he unwrapped the leather cord fastening halves of a mussel shell. Scott, an elder from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, packed each half of the shell with stringy willow wood — his insulation. He added chunks of smoldering fungus — his fuel. The small fire stayed lit, even when he closed the shell.