08.02.24

Senate Committee Passes Cantwell’s Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Federal Wildfire Forecasting and Firefighting Tools

In state alone, 12 large fires are actively burning right now

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation chaired by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) passed the Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires. The Fire Ready Nation Act will formally establish a permanent Fire Weather Services program within NOAA and provide funding for new technologies to forecast weather conditions that cause and impact wildfires.

“Wildfires are actively threatening our communities,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Better tools for first responders can help save properties and lives. The Fire Ready Nation Act will fund new technology and use of unmanned aircraft to gather more data to help NOAA better predict wildfires, and will improve coordination between federal, state, and tribal fire teams.”

The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Cantwell in 2022 and again in 2024, now awaits a vote by the full Senate.

NOAA is already a major player in wildfire preparedness and response. However, the agency has no defined authority in law for its wildfire services. And while NOAA is a world leader in wildfire forecasting, better coordination and funding for new high-tech initiatives would help improve forecasting and preparedness.

In 2023, the United States faced 56,580 wildfires that burned more than 2.6 million acres across the nation, according to the Department of the Interior.  A new study found that worldwide, six of the worst wildfire seasons in history happened in the last seven years – with intense extreme wildfire events more than doubling in the past 20 years and increasing by more than elevenfold in forests like those in the Western U.S. On average, 470,000 acres in Washington state burn each year. The state’s three worst fire seasons occurred in the past nine years, while record numbers of wildfire ignitions have occurred during the same time span and more fires are burning west of the Cascades.

Currently, NOAA helps fight wildfires in several ways:

  • Their climate data and fire season forecasts help federal, state,  and local emergency response agencies and Tribes plan for wildfire season.
  • When potential fire conditions are severe, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) offices issue “Fire Watch Warnings” or “Red Flag Warnings” to help communities prepare.
  • During fires, NOAA deploys specially-trained forecasters called Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) to travel, work,  and provide real-time lifesaving forecasts on the frontlines to keep firefighters safe.
  • NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh-Smoke model helps predict how smoke moves and affects air quality and weather across the country.  

The Fire Ready Nation Act would:

  • Establish an official Fire Weather Services Program within NOAA to authorize wildfire response services at the agency.
  • Fund the research and acquisition of new technology to improve forecasts of wildfire conditions.
  • Create a Fire Weather Testbed to deploy new tools to fight fires, including a pilot program for unmanned aircraft to gather data such as chemical information and survey damage.
  • Share NOAA data across multiple federal agencies to improve fire weather data collection and coordination.
  • Codify the Incident Meteorologist Service into law to continue deploying IMET forecasters to assist emergency responders. It will also ensure IMETs’ receive fair compensation for longer term deployments.

As wildfires in the West become more frequent and intense, Sen. Cantwell is working to ensure communities have access to the resources to prevent, prepare for, fight,  and recover from major wildfires. She secured billions of dollars to support wildfire prevention, response,  and recovery in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In January, Sen. Cantwell co-introduced the Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now (MALDEN) Act, a bipartisan proposal to improve coordination between local, state, tribal,  and federal agencies to deliver resources faster in the aftermath of disastrous wildfires. The MALDEN Act is named for the town of Malden, WA, which was destroyed by the 2020 Babb Road Fire.

Following last summer’s devasting fires in Eastern Washington, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to the Biden administration in support of Gov. Inslee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration, and sent another letter in January 2024 asking for an immediate update on the status of this request. Shortly after Sen. Cantwell sent that letter, President Biden declared a major disaster declaration for Spokane County to deliver funding and assistance for residents and business owners.

After the Bolt Creek Fire in 2022, Sen. Cantwell helped secure emergency funding to stabilize fire-scarred land around Highway 2 near Sultan. Just last year, the Senate unanimously passed two of Sen. Cantwell’s bipartisan bills to modernize the nation’s weather communication and radio service to keep communities better informed during intense weather events.

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