Senators: federal agencies ill-prepared for an extended fire season

Sen. Alex Padilla's Office

Five senators from western states Friday said federal agencies are ill-prepared to adequately respond to the 2026 fire season.

U.S. Democrat senators Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff (both from Calif.), Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper (both from Colorado), and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., signed a letter raising concerns about the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) preparedness and ability to adequately respond to the 2026 fire season.

California has faced severe wildfires this year, with more than 310,000 acres burned.

"Record-breaking high temperatures and historic drought have led to catastrophic fires across the West, destroying thousands of homes, wreaking havoc on the economies of rural communities, stressing the budgets of local governments, and leading to the loss of four wildland firefighters and two pilots," the senators wrote in a letter to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The senators are concerned the agencies could run out of money to provide support to suppress fires, which would lead to fatalities.

"The national firefighting force was at preparedness Level 5 between July 18 and September 4, meaning that federal resources were fully committed for nearly seven weeks," according to the letter. "With several weeks remaining in peak fire season, fire conditions could continue to strain an already stretched system."

 So far this year, the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Wildland Fire Service has used over $6 billion for fire suppression by Sept. 2, spending nearly the entire fire suppression budget, according to the senators. The West is expected to remain in peak fire season — with hot, dry, and windy conditions into early December — raising concerns that resources and suppression funds could run out.

"In light of these concerns, the capacity of the federal government to sustain operations is critical," according to the letter. "We are concerned that the agencies simply do not have enough highly qualified personnel, Incident Management Teams, and supervisory staff to sustain operations."

The senators have been fielding calls that "teams have worked more fires than is safe, using temporary supervisory structures because fully qualified personnel are not available."

Last month, Padilla and Schiff joined Senate colleagues in pressing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on its plans to crack down on prediction markets now offering event contracts for individuals to bet on wildfires.

In July, Padilla and Senate Environment and Public Works committee members introduced the bipartisan Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act (WEPA) of 2026, which would make it easier for states and communities to use prescribed fires to prevent wildfire emissions, protect ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and make forests and communities safer, healthier, and cleaner.

Last year, Padilla introduced the Fix Our Forests Act, bipartisan legislation to combat catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive.