What to Know About President Trump’s Wildland Fire Executive Order

Last week, President Trump signed a highly anticipated executive order to reshape the federal government’s wildfire prevention and response. Framed as a response to the devastating January 2025 Los Angeles fires, the order pushes for faster, leaner, and more tech-enabled action to tackle wildfires. Here’s what’s in the executive order and why it matters:

Agency fire program consolidation: The order directs the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to consolidate their wildland fire operations. This includes everything from budgeting to hiring to research. The agencies have just 90 days to develop a plan.

Gives more partnership power to local firefighters: The order calls for more robust mutual-aid agreements with state, local, and Tribal partners, and mandates new technology partnerships focused on AI, ignition detection, and predictive mapping.

Encourages greater use of prescribed fire: The EPA is directed to review and reform regulations that may restrict prescribed burns (similar to an EPA press announcement earlier this year) or retardant use, while federal land managers are encouraged to promote woody biomass removal to reduce fuels.

Promotes modernizing technologies: The order relies on tech-forward innovation to boost firefighting capacity. It also instructs agencies to review regulations that slow wildfire response and integrate wildfire readiness into power grid planning.

While there is general consensus that change needs to be made to wildfire response, some major questions remain, like: What happens to the Forest Service’s core fire mission? How will this work during a high-risk fire season? And can a federal reorg really happen in 90 days? This Executive Order signals there’s strong support from the key agencies to get this done. Now is the time to engage if you are an organization interested in how an updated implementation is carried out.