Press Releases

Explore the latest news from Interior's Office of Wildland Fire.

To find recent developments about federal wildland fire operations, visit the National Interagency Fire Center news release page.

Firefighter with fire burning in backdrop

Biden-Harris Administration Outlines Strategic Priorities to Strengthen the Nation’s Response to Wildfire

06/04/2024

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued a joint memo to federal agency leaders with wildfire responsibilities outlining their vision and goals for managing wildland fires this year.

Two wildland firefighters wearing wildland fire gear use drip torches for a prescribed burn.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $79 Million from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda for Wildfire Mitigation and Recovery

04/09/2024

The Department of the Interior today announced $79 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to support wildland fire management. The funding will expand wildfire detection capabilities, reduce risk from wildfires, help rehabilitate burned areas and enhance radios and other technology used by wildfire incident management teams.

Ignition operations and holding crews work together to ignite a piece of line during prescribed fire operations in South Florida. Photo by NPS.

President’s 2025 Budget Proposes Significant Investments to Address the Nation’s Wildfire Crisis and Advance Wildland Fire Workforce Reform

03/11/2024

The Biden-Harris administration today submitted to Congress the President’s budget for fiscal year 2025, which includes $1.6 billion for the Department of the Interior’s contributions to wildland fire management.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $185 Million for Wildfire Mitigation and Resilience as Part of the Investing in America Agenda

07/12/2023

During a visit to Montana today, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau announced a $185 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support wildland fire management nationwide in fiscal year 2023 and to assist land managers in planning for wildfire management activities in fiscal year 2024. The funding will support special pay supplements and training opportunities for federal wildland firefighters and will advance collaborative fuels management and burned area rehabilitation activities.

A National Park Service hotshot crew stands in a group before US and Canada flags.

Canada and the United States Commit to Enhanced Wildland Fire Cooperation

06/23/2023

The U.S. and Canada renewed an arrangement that strengthens the two countries’ long-standing cooperation to combat wildfires and protect communities.

Aravaipa Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew member contemplates a partially burned forest during the 2021 Caldor Fire. Photo by Joe Bradshaw, BLM.

Update on Expanding Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing Services

04/04/2023

The Interior and Agriculture departments, at the direction of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are developing a Joint Wildland Firefighter Behavioral Health Program. A planning summit for the joint program will be held in Boise, Idaho, on April 11-13.

President’s 2023 Budget Proposes Significant Investments to Address the Nation’s Wildfire Crisis

03/28/2022

The Biden-Harris Administration today submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2023. It proposes a significant increase for the Department of the Interior’s Wildland Fire Management Program to address the effects of climate change and the impacts of wildfires on public health, communities, and natural and cultural resources. 

A prescribed fire burns near a community in Florida.

Interior Announces Plan to Implement Historic Wildland Fire Management Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

02/16/2022

The Department of the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire today announced initial plans for investing nearly $1.5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to increase the resilience of communities and lands facing the threat of wildland fires and to better support federal wildland firefighters. 

Geronimo Interagency Hotshot Crew, administered by the San Carlos Apache Tribal Natural Resources Program and sponsored by BIA. By Lance Cheung, USDA.

Interior Department and Intertribal Timber Council Strengthen Wildland Fire Management Collaboration

09/15/2021

The Department of the Interior today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Intertribal Timber Council. As climate change propels larger, costlier and more complex wildfires, this agreement emphasizes the importance of collaborating on wildland fire management across departmental and Tribal lands.

Firefighter stands on a rocky hill, looking toward billowing smoke.

Secretaries Haaland and Vilsack Announce Implementation of New Pay Initiatives for Wildland Firefighters

08/17/2021

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the implementation of President Biden's pay intiatives to recognize and support federal wildland firefighters.

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