Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025
Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025 would require federal agencies that manage land (primarily the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and agencies within the Department of the Interior) to establish national standards for how quickly they respond to wildland fire incidents on federal lands. The bill sets a tight goal: a response time of no more than 30 minutes, and deployment of fire suppression assets within 3 hours, wherever feasible. Agencies would have to establish these standards within 90 days of enactment and then produce a comprehensive report to Congress within one year. The report would cover organizational coordination, budgeting, performance indicators, fleet composition and needs, dispatch and contracting improvements, and authorities needed to ensure nationwide, year‑round readiness. The act also defines who is involved (Secretary concerned includes the Agriculture and Interior Secretaries and, for wildland-urban interface concerns, the FEMA Administrator in consultation with the U.S. Fire Administration) and clarifies that the standards apply to wildland fires on federal land. The reporting requirements are intended to inform unified budgeting and to lay out concrete steps to speed up dispatch, fleet capacity, and contracting processes.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a standard for response time to wildland fire incidents on federal land, aiming for no more than 30 minutes to initial evaluation and deployment of suppression assets within 3 hours.
- 2Requires the standard to be set not later than 90 days after enactment.
- 3Defines key terms, including what counts as a “response time,” who is a “Secretary concerned,” and which agencies are covered.
- 4Mandates a comprehensive report to Congress within 1 year containing:
- 5- A single point of contact for federal wildland fire response at the Department of the Interior.
- 6- A unified budget request covering all wildland fire activities of the relevant Secretaries.
- 7- Key performance indicators for each covered agency (Forest Service, BLM, BIA, NPS, USFWS).
- 8- Details on current and required aviation and ground firefighting fleet to meet the 30-minute/3-hour goals.
- 9- Recommended changes to federal ordering and dispatch systems to speed asset deployment.
- 10- A description of contracting mechanisms that could be streamlined to enable faster activation and awards within one year.
- 11- Resources and authorities needed to ensure year‑round, nationwide availability of federal firefighting assets under contract.
- 12Uses broad interagency coordination, including the FEMA Administrator’s role in consultation with the U.S. Fire Administration for wildland-urban interface matters.