S. 91

Western Wildfire Support Act of 2026

Sponsor: Catherine Cortez Masto

1 cosponsor
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Western Wildfire Support Act of 2025 

This bill addresses wildfires by authorizing post-fire recovery activities, supporting adoption of technology, and requiring additional federal coordination.

The bill authorizes federal wildfire response and recovery activities by

  • providing statutory authority for Burned Area Emergency Response Teams to coordinate emergency stabilization and erosion planning, and
  • establishing an account to fund federal rehabilitation projects in areas impacted by a wildfire (e.g., ecosystem restoration, replacing infrastructure critical for land management).

Additionally, for all hazard types, the bill includes post-disaster assistance in the federal disaster preparedness program and authorizes assistance to states for operating websites to provide information on post-disaster recovery resources.

The bill requires federal agencies to develop and utilize technologies for managing wildfires by

  • expediting the permitting and use of wildfire detection equipment (e.g., sensors, cameras);
  • providing funding to Indian tribes for slip-on tanker units that convert vehicles into fire engines;
  • performing research and development on wildfire response applications of unmanned aircraft systems (e.g., drones);
  • studying radio communications systems, situational awareness tools, and wildland fire predictive modeling; and
  • administering a prize competition for technological innovation for managing wildfire-related invasive species.

The bill directs federal agencies to plan and coordinate on wildfire management by

  • incorporating the best available science and planning tools into spatial fire management policies for federal lands,  
  • collaborating with state agencies for mutual aid in fire suppression (including reimbursing states for suppressing fires caused by military operations), and 
  • studying training gaps for integrating structural (e.g., local) firefighters into wildfire response.

Text of the bill

Expand all

I Preparation

II Wildfire detection and suppression support

III Post-fire recovery support

Sec. 303. Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account Since introduced

(a) Establishment of account. There is established in the Treasury of the United States the Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account for the Department of Agriculture.

(b) Authorization of appropriations. There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter for the account established by subsection (a) such sums as are necessary to carry out the activities described in subsection (d), not to exceed $100,000,000.

(c) Presidential budget requests. For fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit through the budget request of the President and in accordance with subsection (b), a request for amounts in the National Forest System appropriation account to carry out the activities described in subsection (d).

(d) Authorized activities. The Secretary of Agriculture shall use amounts in the account established by subsection (a) for rehabilitation projects located at sites impacted by a wildfire or post-wildfire flooding primarily on Federal land, but may include areas on non-Federal land, that—

(1) restore the functions of an ecosystem, including—

(A) identifying areas where natural regeneration is unlikely to occur;

(B) revegetation and reforestation, including coordinating any necessary site preparation, salvage harvesting, and replanting;

(C) watershed restoration;

(D) invasive species mitigation and removal; and

(E) wildlife habitat restoration; or

(2) repair or replace infrastructure or facilities critical for land management activities.

(e) Duration of activities. A rehabilitation project under subsection (d) shall—

(1) begin not earlier than the date on which the wildfire was contained; and

(2) be completed not later than 5 years after the date on which the wildfire was contained.

(f) Agreement authority

(1) In general. The Secretary of Agriculture may enter to agreements with non-Federal entities to carry out activities described in subsection (d).

(2) Cost share. The non-Federal share of the costs of implementing activities under an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)—

(A) shall be not more than 20 percent; and

(B) may include in-kind contributions.

(3) Savings provision. Nothing in this subsection—

(A) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with non-Federal entities to carry out activities described in subsection (d); or

(B) limits the effect of the prioritization requirements under subsection (g).

(g) Prioritization of funding. The Secretary of Agriculture shall prioritize, on a nationwide basis, projects for which funding requests are submitted under this section based on downstream effects on water resources.

(h) Reporting. Beginning in fiscal year 2027, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall annually submit to Congress a report on the burned area recovery work performed using—

(1) amounts from the account established by subsection (a);

(2) amounts made available under the Act of June 9, 1930 (16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.); and

(3) amounts from the Reforestation Trust Fund established by section 303(a) of Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a(a)).

I Preparation

II Wildfire detection and suppression support

III Post-fire recovery support