Padilla Cosponsors Bipartisan Legislation to Boost Wildfire Mitigation and Research
As wildfires have devastated California and the West, bipartisan bill would create career pathways to tackle growing wildfire threats
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined his colleagues in introducing the bipartisan Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act, legislation that would establish regional research centers at institutions of higher education across the country to boost wildfire mitigation and research. These regional centers would be tasked with developing next-generation fire and vegetation models and technologies to support wildland fire management and address the specific needs of the region in which they are situated. Additionally, this bill would establish a National Center Coordination Board to manage the work of regional centers and establish Regional Advisory Boards from wildfire management agencies, state and tribal governments, and other stakeholders to provide input and assistance.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, current wildfire models are failing to adequately predict fire behavior under extreme conditions and in more complex environments, like last month’s Southern California fires, which occurred under severe winds. These models also struggle to reproduce recent catastrophic wildfires, making them more likely to fail at predicting future wildfires or determining when and where it is safe to conduct prescribed burns. That’s why next-generation fire and vegetation models are essential to supporting effective wildland fire management and preparing firefighters against evolving risks.
Senator Padilla joined Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) in introducing the legislation.
“Californians are all too familiar with the devastating toll catastrophic wildfires can take on their communities, burning down homes and businesses, and uprooting families’ livelihoods,” said Senator Padilla. “As the climate crisis makes wildfires more dangerous and harder to predict, expanding our wildland fire research would help us better prepare for wildfires and safely conduct prescribed burns ahead of peak fire season. California universities are already the nation’s leading hub for wildfire research and technology, and this bipartisan effort is a critical step forward in expanding next-generation fire mitigation efforts.”
“Far too many communities in New Mexico and in states across the country know that wildfire season can cost you everything. We must do everything possible to understand the root causes of these wildfires and how local communities can improve wildfire mitigation efforts and save lives and livelihoods,” said Senator Luján. “I’m proud to partner with Senator Sullivan to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation to establish regional research centers tasked with developing next-generation fire and vegetation models and technologies to boost wildfire mitigation. Each of these regional centers will help boost wildland fire management across the country while creating more opportunities for a good-paying job through career training for wildfire research. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law.”
“Wildfires burn millions of acres in Alaska every year—sometimes as much or more than the combined acreage burned in the rest of the country,” said Senator Sullivan. “To better protect lives, homes and critical infrastructure, we need to invest in research that will produce more accurate models and empower our wildland firefighters to better predict and extinguish fires before they become full-scale natural disasters. I’m glad to reintroduce legislation with Senator Luján to establish wildland fire research centers at our universities with specialized expertise in this space—like UAF in Interior Alaska—and develop more effective firefighting strategies that respond to the unique circumstances of each of our states.”
“If we’ve learned anything from recent wildfire tragedies across the country, it’s that the threat of catastrophic wildfires isn’t seasonal, nor is it isolated to one region; it’s a year-round, nationwide threat. I’m proud to join this bipartisan effort with my colleagues to invest in better anticipating wildland fires, streamlining our response, and ensuring we are fighting these fires faster and more effectively to keep communities safe,” said Senator Sheehy.
Each regional research center would:
- Conduct research to improve our understanding of wildland fire, including causes and associated risks for fires, rehabilitation of affected ecosystems, mitigation strategies that improve firefighter safety, and more;
- Develop, maintain, and operate next-generation fire and vegetation models and technologies to support wildland fire management; and
- Develop a career pathway training program to help carry out wildland fire research.
The bill is supported by the Federation of American Scientists, Megafire Action, National Association of State Foresters, National Federation of Federal Employees, the Nature Conservancy, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“We spend billions on improving our understanding of disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes — that hasn’t happened yet with megafire. The Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act recognizes and invests in our research community to produce region specific scientific research and solutions to catastrophic wildfires, allowing innovators and wildland firefighters to use this information to directly leverage technology to predict, detect, and prevent megafire,” said Matt Weiner, CEO of Megafire Action.
Senator Padilla has long been a leader in strengthening the federal and state response to wildfires. Earlier this month, Padilla introduced bipartisan legislation to create a national Wildfire Intelligence Center to streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combat wildfires. He also announced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts, including the Wildfire Emergency Act, the Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act, and the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act. Last month, Padilla introduced another suite of bipartisan bills to strengthen wildfire recovery and resilience. Additionally, Padilla’s legislation to strengthen FEMA’s wildfire preparedness and response efforts, the FIRE Act, became law in 2022.
A one-pager on the bill is available here.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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