Federal Consolidation of Wildland Firefighting Forces Will Face First Test This Summer

With over 60 percent of the nation in drought and snowpacks at historic lows, the Trump administration seeks ‘strategic unification’ of multi-agency responders.

A view of a structure that was destroyed by the 6-5 Fire in the TCU September Lightning Complex in Chinese Camp, Calif., on Sept. 3, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

An administrative consolidation of federal wildland firefighting resources will be tested in the coming months, with the National Interagency Fire Center warning more than 60 percent of the United States is now in drought and AccuWeather projecting that up to 8 million acres, primarily across the parched intermountain West, will burn by fall.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, created in January, will merge what is now a mosaic of federal responders from multiple agencies into a single command-and-control operation to enhance coordination with state, local, and tribal firefighters in battling blazes on 500 million acres of federal public lands.