[WASHINGTON, D.C. January 14, 2025] – Massive wildfires tearing through California are a warning of similar disasters to follow unless we change how we combat these fires.
Wildfires, like house-fires, require a response that is fast and all-year-round.
We’ve long talked about all-year-round wildfires, now we need to fight them that way too. This is a nationwide emergency, needing an immediate response. Homes and lives are at stake in wildfires too.
More than 44 million U.S. homes sit where neighborhoods meet wilderness areas. Yet the devastation caused by wildfires can go well beyond these neighborhoods, affecting hundreds of millions more Americans with economic and environmental damage, and causing long-term health problems for those living with wildfire smoke for much of the
year.
The L.A. fires alone have caused well above $50 billion in damage, in days. Yet we spend under $10 billion annually, fighting wildfires nationwide.
Americans living in urban and suburban areas know firefighters are expected to meet required response times to defend our houses and lives from fire. Yet, no such required response times exist for wildfires.
Two years ago, this gap was recognized by the federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission which called for standards to be set for the industry. This has still not happened.
The Commission’s report acknowledged fires are breaking out in what we thought of as ‘safe’ months, when resources and firefighters might once have had a reprieve from wildfires. Now, firefighting teams and equipment must be ready to respond, quickly, all year round.
Satellite technology and cameras should be used around the clock to spot fires and trigger a response with helicopters and planes, then firefighters could be dispatched on the ground with heavy equipment and support teams.
Private companies are crucial partners in this firefight, bringing new technology and needed resources. The U.S. Congress needs to support the companies who invest in firefighting equipment and innovation, treating this fire threat as it does other major national emergencies, where preparation is key.
The United Aerial Firefighters Association (UAFA) strongly backs the Commission’s recommendation and is urging Congress to create a standard for response times to wildfires, just as we have a standard with clear protocols for house fires.
The choice is simple: Congress must fund a year-round emergency response team with clear response requirements for wildfires. If we don’t, we’ll keep watching communities burn as we scramble to respond with too few resources. The cost of preparation now, is far less than the devastating price we’ll pay later.
Paul Petersen, Executive Director, United Aerial Firefighters Association
