The U.S. Department of the Interior is pressing ahead with its reorganization of federal wildland firefighting under a newly established U.S. Wildland Fire Service, even as Congress has yet to formally endorse the plan and the 2026 fire season ramps up across the West.

A New Federal Fire Agency

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order on January 12, 2026, establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service — a consolidation of wildland fire programs previously spread across six DOI agencies and offices. The reorganization marks one of the most significant structural changes to federal wildland firefighting in decades.

The new service is intended to unify command structures, streamline resource deployment, and address long-standing coordination challenges between the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Office of Wildland Fire.

Phased Implementation

Interior officials have emphasized a cautious approach to the rollout. Brad Shoemaker, U.S. Interior Department Wildland Fire Service fuels specialist, told the Montana Environmental Quality Council in April that 2026 is not a year for major policy overhauls: "We're not looking at 2026 as the year we go in and make significant changes to policy."

Interior has stated that implementation will "occur in deliberative phases to ensure continuity of operations and readiness for wildfire activity in 2026." The agency is moving forward without formal congressional authorization — a point noted by federal government watchdogs and some lawmakers.

FY2026 Funding

Congress passed a FY2026 Interior-Environment appropriations bill that provides substantial wildfire funding:

  • $4.25 billion total for wildfire suppression
  • $2.85 billion designated for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund
  • $1.01 billion in baseline USFS suppression funding
  • $383.7 million in baseline DOI suppression funding

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, ranking member of the Interior-Environment subcommittee, called the funding "essential" for protecting communities and firefighters during what is shaping up to be an active season.

Staffing Concerns Persist

Separate from the reorganization, federal firefighting faces a well-documented staffing challenge heading into 2026. Layoffs and voluntary departures driven by federal workforce reduction efforts left thousands of Forest Service positions vacant going into the season, according to reporting by ProPublica. The Trump administration proposed slashing USFS staffing by 26% in its FY2026 budget proposal, a figure that drew sharp criticism from fire unions and state fire officials.

Pacific Northwest fire managers are closely watching whether the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service structure improves or complicates interagency coordination during the upcoming season — a test that active fires in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are already beginning to provide.