S91-119

What This Bill Does

The Western Wildfire Support Act turns wildfire response into a multi-agency operations and recovery package. It extends firefighting-account transparency, requires the Department of Defense to reimburse federal wildfire costs caused by military training, orders fireshed-level planning on federal land, brings local firefighters into FEMA-reviewed response models, expands detection equipment and slip-on tanker access to Indian Tribes, studies drone interference and radio failures, funds online post-disaster guides, creates permanent Burned Area Emergency Response Teams, and establishes a Department of Agriculture account for long-term burned-area rehabilitation.

Who Benefits and How

Wildfire-prone communities benefit because federal land managers must plan by fireshed, deploy detection equipment, and modernize radio and response technology before fires spread into homes and infrastructure. Local firefighters benefit because FEMA and the fire agencies must study how to integrate local crews into federal wildfire response instead of treating them as outside support. Indian Tribes benefit because the slip-on tanker unit program is expanded to include Tribal governments alongside local governments. Disaster survivors benefit from online post-disaster assistance guides that can make Stafford Act aid, recovery resources, and agency contacts easier to find after a fire. Burned watersheds and public lands benefit because permanent BAER teams and a long-term rehabilitation account create dedicated recovery capacity after suppression ends. Wildfire technology vendors and researchers benefit from explicit federal attention to sensors, cameras, unmanned aircraft systems, radio systems, and invasive-species prizes.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior Department and Forest Service land managers must review spatial fire-management policies, issue updated fireshed plans, place detection equipment, and maintain BAER capacity. The Department of Defense must reimburse the Interior or Agriculture departments when military training starts a wildfire and federal fire costs are incurred. FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration must study local-firefighter integration and report to congressional committees. The Federal Aviation Administration must participate in the drone-incursion study and identify options for reducing interference with suppression aircraft. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of new accounts, reports, teams, technology modernization, and post-fire rehabilitation once Congress appropriates the money.

Key Provisions

• Requires firefighting-account transparency reports to continue and reflect ongoing wildfire suppression costs.
• Directs Defense Department reimbursement when military training causes wildfires on or affecting federal response resources.
• Requires strategic fireshed planning, local-firefighter integration review, drone-incursion study, and wildfire technology modernization studies.
• Expands wildfire detection equipment and slip-on tanker unit support, including access for Indian Tribes.
• Establishes permanent Burned Area Emergency Response Teams and a Department of Agriculture long-term burned-area rehabilitation account.
• Authorizes post-disaster assistance guides and an invasive-species reduction prize tied to wildfire recovery.