Policy & Funding

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators warned in September that the federal government has already spent over $6 billion on fire suppression in 2026 — nearly the entire annual budget — while the worst of fire season may still be ahead.

Senators Padilla, Bennet, and Schiff are raising alarms as 2026 federal fire suppression spending approaches $6 billion — nearly exhausting the entire budget — while Oregon approved $108 million in emergency state funds to cover ODF's fire costs.

Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking restoration of $4.8 million in prescribed fire funding after the 2025-27 budget slashed the program by 80%—from $6M to $1.2M per biennium—just as the 2026 fire season devastated the Pacific Northwest. The agency points to the Sinlahekin Wildfire as proof that prescribed burns work.

The 2026 wildfire season has become one of the most destructive in U.S. history, with 63,681 fires burning more than 9 million acres through October 9—145% of the 10-year average. Eight large fires remain active nationally, with the Southern geographic area facing continued elevated fire potential into early 2027.

Sens. Merkley and Curtis introduced bipartisan legislation to give wildland firefighter families the same up-to-$100,000 death benefit awarded to military families — prompted in part by an Oregon firefighter's death on the Austin Fire at Mt. Hood.

With 62,738 fires and more than 9 million acres burned as of early October, 2026 is shaping up as one of the most destructive wildfire seasons on record — 135% of the 10-year average fire count and 147% of average acreage.

The Interior Department launched the U.S. Wildland Fire Service in April 2026, but Congress has declined to fund the consolidation, leaving the new agency's future uncertain as FY2027 budget debates loom.

A bipartisan group of senators including Oregon's Ron Wyden is calling for urgent action on wildfire funding as the USFS and U.S. Wildland Fire Service spent nearly their entire $6 billion suppression budget by early September.

With nearly 63,000 wildfires and over 9 million acres burned as of early October, 2026 has become one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in U.S. recorded history — running 147% of the 10-year average for acres burned.

A group of U.S. senators warned in September that over $6 billion in fire suppression budget authority had been committed by early September 2026, nearly exhausting the year’s entire wildfire suppression budget. The news is prompting calls for reauthorization of the fire funding Reserve Fund.

A bipartisan group of Western U.S. senators is demanding emergency action after the U.S. Wildland Fire Service burned through nearly its entire $6 billion fire suppression budget by early September — with months of peak fire season remaining.

FEMA approves nearly $43 million for wildfire recovery and mitigation in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington; Oregon extends its insurance emergency order another 30 days to protect fire-impacted policyholders.

The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill designed to make it easier for states and communities to use prescribed fire. The vote comes as federal fire suppression spending for 2026 has nearly exhausted its entire budget ahead of schedule.

Federal senators raised urgent concerns in September as USFS and DOI burned through nearly all of their $6 billion FY2026 fire suppression budget — calling on Congress to reform wildfire funding before the 2027 season.

A bipartisan group of Western senators has warned that the U.S. Forest Service and Wildland Fire Service burned through nearly their entire annual fire suppression budget by early September — with fire season still ongoing.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has formally asked President Trump to approve a major disaster declaration for four eastern Washington counties following devastating summer wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes.

From the Fix Our Forests Act to the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act, a series of bipartisan bills are gaining momentum in Washington, D.C. — driven in large part by the devastation of the 2026 fire season and growing political urgency on both sides of the aisle.

Congress funded $1.01B for USFS and $383.7M for DOI wildfire suppression in FY2026, with a $2.85B reserve fund. A Trump administration proposal to consolidate agencies under a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service faces pushback as a Congressional study begins.

With over 2.5 million acres burned — the most in Oregon’s recorded history — the 2026 fire season is driving intense debate over forest management, public land policy, and whether the state’s approach to wildfire is fundamentally broken.

Oregon's Legislature approved nearly $123 million in emergency wildfire funding — $108 million to the Oregon Department of Forestry and $15 million to the State Fire Marshal — after a record-shattering season that burned 2.3 million acres and cost the state more than $236 million through late August.