Cantwell Introduces Bipartisan ‘Fire Ready Nation Act’ to Strengthen Federal Wildfire Forecasting and Firefighting Tools

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, introduced the Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires. The Fire Ready Nation Act will formally establish a permanent Fire Weather Services program within NOAA and authorize funding for new technologies to forecast weather conditions that cause and impact wildfires.
“Over 300,000 acres burned in the State of Washington last year and this month's California wildfires demonstrate we are facing costly, unpredictable wildfires year-round,”said Sen. Cantwell.“The Fire Ready Nation Act can help save homes and lives by giving scientists and weather forecasters on the front lines of wildfires innovative tools to better predict wildfire and smoke conditions.”
NOAA is already a major player in wildfire preparedness and response. However, the agency has no defined authority in law for its wildfire services. And while NOAA is a world leader in wildfire forecasting, better coordination and funding for new high-tech initiatives would help improve forecasting and preparedness.
In 2024, the United States faced61,685 wildfires that burned more than 8.8 million acresacross the nation. In the State of Washington, 308,000 acres burned in the2024 fire season, and firefighters faced more than 1,400 ignitions. Preliminaryestimatesfor this month’s California fires put the damage and economic losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion, which would make it the costliest wildfire event in U.S. history.
Currently, NOAA helps fight wildfires in several ways:
The Fire Ready Nation Act would:
As wildfires in the West become more frequent and intense, Sen. Cantwell is working to ensure communities have access to the resources to prevent, prepare for, fight, and recover from major wildfires. Shesecuredbillions of dollars to support wildfire prevention, response, and recovery in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In January 2024, Sen. Cantwellco-introducedthe Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now (MALDEN) Act, a bipartisan proposal to improve coordination between local, state, tribal, and federal agencies to deliver resources faster in the aftermath of disastrous wildfires. The MALDEN Act is named for the town of Malden, WA, which was destroyed by the 2020 Babb Road Fire.
Following 2023’s devastating Gray and Oregon Road fires in Eastern Washington, Sen. Cantwellsent a letterto the Biden administration in support of Gov. Inslee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration, andsent another letterin January 2024 asking for an immediate update on the status of this request. Shortly after Sen. Cantwell sent that letter, President Bidendeclared a major disaster declarationfor Spokane County to deliver funding and assistance for residents and business owners.
After the Bolt Creek Fire in 2022, Sen. Cantwell helpedsecureemergency funding to stabilize fire-scarred land around Highway 2 near Sultan. Just last year, the Senate unanimously passed two of Sen. Cantwell’sbipartisan billsto modernize the nation’s weather communication and radio service to keep communities better informed during intense weather events.