US wild land firefighting merge into a new single force agency despite expert warnings
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Critics Say Move Could Disrupt Fire Season and Increase Risk of Catastrophic Blazes
In a sweeping executive order issued mid June, President Donald Trump directed the federal government to consolidate all wildland firefighting operations into a single national force — a move that has sparked alarm among former officials and fire experts who warn it could lead to confusion, inefficiency, and even more destructive wildfires.
The order calls for the creation of a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Department of the Interior, effectively shifting thousands of personnel and resources from the U.S. Forest Service, which currently operates under the Department of Agriculture. The change would centralize firefighting efforts that are currently spread across five federal agencies and two Cabinet departments2.
“Wildfires threaten every region, yet many local government entities continue to disregard commonsense preventive measures,” the order states, citing the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January as justification for the overhaul.
🔄 A Risky Reshuffle During Peak Fire Season
The announcement comes as the 2025 fire season is already underway, with federal officials predicting another above-average year due to prolonged drought and record-high temperatures. More than 65,000 wildfires scorched nearly 9 million acres across the U.S. last year alone3.
Critics argue that the timing of the reorganization could be disastrous. A coalition of former Forest Service chiefs and fire management officials warned in a letter to Congress that the move could “increase the likelihood of more large catastrophic fires” by disrupting coordination and diverting attention from fire prevention to fire suppression3.
“This is madness,” said the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation advocacy group. “You don’t restructure the fire department while the house is burning.”
💰 Unclear Costs, Uncertain Gains
The Trump administration has not disclosed how much the consolidation would cost or save. The president’s proposed 2026 budget includes funding for the new agency, but details remain sparse. Critics also point out that the administration previously cut funding for wildfire prevention and reduced the number of federal firefighters through layoffs and retirements.
Notably, the executive order makes no mention of climate change, which scientists widely agree is a key driver of the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires. Trump has consistently downplayed the role of global warming in natural disasters.
🔍 What Comes Next?
The Interior Department has been tasked with developing a transition plan, but no timeline has been announced. Meanwhile, fire crews across the West are bracing for a potentially chaotic summer.
“This isn’t just a bureaucratic shuffle,” said one former fire official. “It’s a gamble with lives, property, and ecosystems.”
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/** * @file * News article: Trump Orders Wildland Firefighting Merger Amid Warnings of Chaos. * * Sources: * - Fire Engineering: Trump Moves to Merge Wildland Firefighting into Single Force * URL: https://www.fireengineering.com/firefighting/wildland-firefighting/trump-moves-… * * - National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) – Annual Wildfire Statistics * URL: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics * * - U.S. Forest Service – Wildland Fire Management * URL: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire * * - Center for Western Priorities – Policy Statements on Wildfire Management * URL: https://westernpriorities.org * * - White House Executive Orders Archive (2025) * URL: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/