White House pushed to move firefighting out of Forest Service

By Marc Heller | 04/11/2025 01:34 PM EDT

A draft executive order would revamp wildland firefighting, pursuing a new federal agency and mandating 30-minute response times in high-risk areas.

Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) at the Capitol.

Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) is pushing for changing how the federal government handles wildfires. Francis Chung/POLITICO

Advocates for the aerial firefighting business are pushing for an executive order from President Donald Trump to ease regulations on their industry and mandate faster wildfire response times.

A draft executive order being circulated among congressional offices and policy groups proposes to streamline contracting for aircraft used in fire suppression, create a wildland firefighting task force and create a new wildland fire agency to replace the Forest Service’s primary jurisdiction over fire.

People close to the wildland fire program who reviewed the draft said it’s driven largely by Congress — including Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), who founded the fire aviation company Bridger Aerospace, one of many companies that contract with the Forest Service to fight fires on and around national forests.

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Some industry groups such as the United Aerial Firefighters Association, representing aviation companies, contributed as well, they said, but neither the Forest Service nor state forestry agencies played a significant role.

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