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?’”
Wildland Firefighters Issue Open Letter Opposing Trump Administration’s Plan to End the ‘Roadless Rule’ in National Forests
“Rescinding the Roadless Rule will push more firefighters into high-exposure, low-value suppression assignments while pulling resources away from at-risk communities.”
This knowledge, gained by years of on-the-ground firefighting experience, aligns with scientific research.
“Rescinding the Roadless Rule will push more firefighters into high-exposure, low-value suppression assignments while pulling resources away from at-risk communities.”
This knowledge, gained by years of on-the-ground firefighting experience, aligns with scientific research.
The dangerous rush to consolidate America’s wildfire response
Producers Lauren Bogard and Lilly Bock-Brownstein are joined by Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE). Timothy explains why the Trump administration’s rushed reorganization of federal firefighting is so risky, what it means for the firefighters already heading into a dangerous season short-staffed, and why he sees the whole effort as less like reform and more like sabotage.
(Interview starts at 6:10)
Producers Lauren Bogard and Lilly Bock-Brownstein are joined by Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE). Timothy explains why the Trump administration’s rushed reorganization of federal firefighting is so risky, what it means for the firefighters already heading into a dangerous season short-staffed, and why he sees the whole effort as less like reform and more like sabotage.
(Interview starts at 6:10)
This year’s US wildfires have already set records that could foreshadow a smoky, fiery summer
Recently released data show how drought, paltry Western snows and unseasonable heat, all exacerbated by climate change, could be priming the nation for a long wildfire season.
More fires in what has historically been a wetter part of the year “is becoming less a trend, more a pattern and normality,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. “It is a clear signal of ongoing climate change.”
Recently released data show how drought, paltry Western snows and unseasonable heat, all exacerbated by climate change, could be priming the nation for a long wildfire season.
More fires in what has historically been a wetter part of the year “is becoming less a trend, more a pattern and normality,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. “It is a clear signal of ongoing climate change.”
Questions mount as Interior’s wildfire agency takes shape
Over time, many land managers have come to embrace wildfire as an inevitable — and often beneficial — force that shapes forests, grasslands and wildlife. In some cases, fires should be allowed to burn, said Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, an advocacy group of current and former wildland firefighters.
“All suppression, all the time, is basically a failed — failing and failed — strategy,” he said. “We are losing the war on wildfire, and the whole paradigm needs to shift to working with fire instead of fighting against fire.”
Over time, many land managers have come to embrace wildfire as an inevitable — and often beneficial — force that shapes forests, grasslands and wildlife. In some cases, fires should be allowed to burn, said Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, an advocacy group of current and former wildland firefighters.
“All suppression, all the time, is basically a failed — failing and failed — strategy,” he said. “We are losing the war on wildfire, and the whole paradigm needs to shift to working with fire instead of fighting against fire.”
The fight over logging on U.S. public lands isn’t done yet
Despite an Oregon court ruling in January invalidating a rule that enabled clear cutting, it’s far from the last salvo in the battle for how to fight fires or manage forests—and who can profit from it.
Despite an Oregon court ruling in January invalidating a rule that enabled clear cutting, it’s far from the last salvo in the battle for how to fight fires or manage forests—and who can profit from it.
Fires and logging justice
A decades-old US Forest Service rule that’s been used to supposedly reduce wildfire risk through large-scale logging while bypassing environmental review has been deemed unlawful by a federal court in Oregon. Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and Executive Director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, talks with Host Steve Curwood about why clearcutting can instead increase wildfire risk, and shares his view that USFS needs to rethink its entire approach to managing forests and wildfire risk.
A decades-old US Forest Service rule that’s been used to supposedly reduce wildfire risk through large-scale logging while bypassing environmental review has been deemed unlawful by a federal court in Oregon. Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and Executive Director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, talks with Host Steve Curwood about why clearcutting can instead increase wildfire risk, and shares his view that USFS needs to rethink its entire approach to managing forests and wildfire risk.
Rescinding ‘Roadless Rule’ threatens Oregon’s public lands
Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology in Eugene, said changing the rule has nothing to do with fire prevention.
“Rescinding protection of the roadless area is about extracting commodity resources and exerting power over the landscape, not fire prevention,” Ingalsbee said. “It’s a losing proposition. It’s not about firefighting, it’s staking out landscapes for logging, grazing, mining or drilling. That’s what this administration is all about. These places are so remote and rugged that building a road is destructive. It won’t last. It’s a huge expense for taxpayers.”
Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology in Eugene, said changing the rule has nothing to do with fire prevention.
“Rescinding protection of the roadless area is about extracting commodity resources and exerting power over the landscape, not fire prevention,” Ingalsbee said. “It’s a losing proposition. It’s not about firefighting, it’s staking out landscapes for logging, grazing, mining or drilling. That’s what this administration is all about. These places are so remote and rugged that building a road is destructive. It won’t last. It’s a huge expense for taxpayers.”
Interior department moves to consolidate its firefighters into one agency. With no dedicated funding for the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service, how are those in land management reacting?
“It’s all been kind of a black box operation,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, the executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, a nonprofit based in Eugene, Oregon. “There’s almost no information coming out.”
“It’s all been kind of a black box operation,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, the executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, a nonprofit based in Eugene, Oregon. “There’s almost no information coming out.”
Trump’s new Wildland Fire Service is failing to ignite. Wildfires are a growing threat. Do we need a new federal agency to help?
There are also concerns about how the Wildland Fire Service will set its priorities. “There are valid reasons to support creating a fire management agency, but this is a firefighting force, and that is part of the problem,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology and a former firefighter. “Waiting around for a wildfire during these hot, dry, windy conditions that are becoming more frequent due to climate change, we’ll never get ahead of the problem.”
There are also concerns about how the Wildland Fire Service will set its priorities. “There are valid reasons to support creating a fire management agency, but this is a firefighting force, and that is part of the problem,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology and a former firefighter. “Waiting around for a wildfire during these hot, dry, windy conditions that are becoming more frequent due to climate change, we’ll never get ahead of the problem.”
Lawmakers fight back against major decision that will impact 45 million acres of land: '[They] will literally pave the way'
The U.S. Forest Service is attempting to repeal a 2001 Virginia law that protects 45 million acres of forest from logging and development. The federal government has framed its argument around bolstering wildfire management, though a seasoned wildfire ecologist who started his career as a wildland firefighter said more roads are likely to cause more fires.
"The historical evidence is clear: roads did not and do not prevent wildfires, they actually facilitate them," Timothy Ingalsbee, PhD, wrote for Columbia Insight in December.
The U.S. Forest Service is attempting to repeal a 2001 Virginia law that protects 45 million acres of forest from logging and development. The federal government has framed its argument around bolstering wildfire management, though a seasoned wildfire ecologist who started his career as a wildland firefighter said more roads are likely to cause more fires.
"The historical evidence is clear: roads did not and do not prevent wildfires, they actually facilitate them," Timothy Ingalsbee, PhD, wrote for Columbia Insight in December.
Fix Our Forests Act makes big wildfire response changes. Expert says it also has harmful provisions
Before we can fix our forests, we really need to fix our fires.
Before we can fix our forests, we really need to fix our fires.
Federal judge nixes rule that enabled clearcutting in the name of taming wildfires
“Calling out fire is not enough to get you a get-out-of-jail-free card, you have to back it up with some actual truth.”
“Calling out fire is not enough to get you a get-out-of-jail-free card, you have to back it up with some actual truth.”
Decades-old rule that allowed logging on vast swaths of US land ruled unlawful by Oregon court
“Most of these categorical exclusions used for logging have been framed as wildfire emergency prevention schemes,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, who was not involved in the lawsuit. “The agency screams ‘Fire!’ and thinks they can induce panic in the public and in the courts, and especially in the politicians who are naturally inclined to favor industry, and they can get away with it.”
Forest thinning is most effective when combined with prescribed burning and targeting excessively dense shrubs, saplings and younger trees—the fuel closer to the forest floor, Ingalsbee said. “They burn fast, they burn hot,” he said. But large logging projects target the big crown trees, which are often more resilient to wildfires, and can remove too many trees, leaving sparse forests that can take decades to recover.
“Most of these categorical exclusions used for logging have been framed as wildfire emergency prevention schemes,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, who was not involved in the lawsuit. “The agency screams ‘Fire!’ and thinks they can induce panic in the public and in the courts, and especially in the politicians who are naturally inclined to favor industry, and they can get away with it.”
Forest thinning is most effective when combined with prescribed burning and targeting excessively dense shrubs, saplings and younger trees—the fuel closer to the forest floor, Ingalsbee said. “They burn fast, they burn hot,” he said. But large logging projects target the big crown trees, which are often more resilient to wildfires, and can remove too many trees, leaving sparse forests that can take decades to recover.