Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. one of the nation’s largest aerial firefighting companies has applauded the announcement by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture of a Wildland Fire Service Plan to modernize federal wildfire response.
The announcement comes as part of a coordinated action to implement the President’s Executive Order 14308, Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response.
Sam Davis, Bridger’s Chief Executive Officer stated: “Consolidating federal capabilities and bringing together wildland fire programs that have long operated across multiple agencies will help us respond more quickly and effectively at the early stages of a wildfire to save lives, protect property and reduce the hazards faced by firefighters.”
As part of the announcement, the Department of the Interior issued Secretary’s Order 3443, which directs the establishment of the US Wildland Fire Service with a plan for implementation in January 2026.
The Department of Agriculture also released its own memorandum to modernize and strengthen America’s wildfire prevention and response system.
The Wildland Fire Service Plan will focus on five interdependent priorities; address system inefficiencies and modernize aviation and coordination systems. Strengthen interagency wildfire coordination and response.
Improve federal partnerships and reduce administrative burden, ensure wildfire research, technology and IT investments are mission-ready. Integrate pre- and post-fire activities into a complete wildfire strategy.
Additionally, the bipartisan Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025 passed the Senate unanimously last week.
This legislation seeks to strengthen federal wildfire forecasting, prevention and response capabilities, addressing the growing needs in the wildland-urban interface and ensuring a coordinated program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Key provisions include establishing a permanent Fire Weather Services program to authorize wildfire response services and funding for new technologies to improve forecasts of wildfire conditions.
Testing new tools for firefighting, including unmanned aircraft for data collection and sharing NOAA data across federal agencies to improve fire weather data collection and coordination.
Davis concluded: “The Wildland Fire Service Plan and the Fire Ready Nation Act come on the heels of the 2025 Executive Order on Wildfire Response which is already leading to a significant change in how the country approaches and fights wildfires.
“With Bridger’s significant Air Attack fleet, including modern fire imaging and surveillance aircraft and the world’s largest private Super Scooper fleet, we believe we are uniquely positioned as the nation refocuses efforts on preparedness and aggressive Wildfire Suppression.
“This commitment, on top of the 2026 budget for the new US Wildland Fire Service, will have a significant positive impact on the entire wildland fire community.”
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. one of the nation’s largest aerial firefighting companies has applauded the announcement by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture of a Wildland Fire Service Plan to modernize federal wildfire response.
