Official Summaries

This bill sets out requirements for wildfire suppression and management activities carried out by the Forest Service.

These requirements apply to Forest Service land that (1) has a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought intensity rating; (2) has a National Wildland Fire Preparedness level of 5 (i.e., the highest level of wildland fire activity); or (3) is located in a fireshed ranked in the top 10% of wildfire exposure.

Within 24 hours of detecting a wildfire on such Forest Service land, the service must use all available resources to extinguish the wildfire. Additionally, the service may not inhibit the firefighting activities of state and local agencies that are authorized to respond to wildfires on the Forest Service land.

Further, the service may only initiate a backfire or burnout as part of a fire suppression strategy if it is ordered by the responsible incident commander or is necessary to protect the health and safety of firefighting personnel. The service must use all available resources to control any initiated fire until it is extinguished.

The bill also limits the service's use of prescribed fires (i.e., the controlled application of fire by a team of experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire). When using prescribed fires as a fire resource management tool, the service must comply with applicable laws and regulations and immediately suppress any prescribed fire that exceeds its prescription.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 178 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 178

  To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to 
              suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

  Mr. McClintock (for himself, Mr. Calvert, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Biggs of 
  Arizona, Mr. Stauber, and Mr. Issa) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
  the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to 
              suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SUPPRESSION OF WILDFIRES.

    (a) In General.--With respect to covered National Forest System 
lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 
Forest Service--
            (1) shall--
                    (A) use all available resources to carry out 
                wildfire suppression with the purpose of extinguishing 
                wildfires detected on such lands not later than 24 
                hours after such a wildfire is detected; and
                    (B) immediately suppress any prescribed fire that 
                exceeds prescription;
            (2) shall not inhibit the suppression efforts of State or 
        local firefighting agencies that are authorized to respond to 
        wildfire on such lands;
            (3) may only use fire as a resource management tool if the 
        fire is a prescribed fire that complies with applicable law and 
        regulations;
            (4) may only initiate a backfire or burnout during a 
        wildfire--
                    (A) by order of the responsible incident commander; 
                or
                    (B) in instances that are necessary to protect the 
                health and safety of firefighting personnel; and
            (5) shall use all available resources to control any such 
        initiated backfire or burnout until extinguished.
    (b) Covered National Forest System Lands Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``covered National Forest System lands'' means any area--
            (1) located within National Forest System lands; and
            (2) that--
                    (A) the U.S. Drought Monitor has rated as having a 
                D2 (severe drought) intensity, D3 (extreme drought) 
                intensity, or D4 (exceptional drought) intensity;
                    (B) the National Interagency Fire Center declares 
                has a National Wildland Fire Preparedness level of 5; 
                or
                    (C) the Forest Service has identified as being 
                located in a fireshed ranked in the top 10 percent of 
                wildfire exposure (as determined using the most 
                recently published models of fireshed risk exposure 
                published by the Forest Service).
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