This week, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman, Scott Peters and Joe Neguse, along with 54 of their Democratic colleagues, demanded that the Trump administration restart paused wildfire prevention work under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
Through executive orders, the administration has frozen essential wildfire mitigation efforts, like reducing flammable vegetation, providing emergency planning services to communities and hiring wildland fire fighters.
Democrat’s message to the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior and Homeland Security
In their demand to the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior and Homeland Security, the members wrote: “The potential consequences of the President’s efforts to withhold these critical investments to the communities and lands that need them in a timely manner and as directed by Congress are grave.
“Without urgent corrective action from this administration, we will be less safe, less prepared, and more vulnerable to extreme wildfire threats.”
They also requested the Secretaries provide the following information by February 15:
- An inventory of all the federal funding and assistance programs across the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Homeland Security that the Administration has currently paused that are related to:
- Hazardous fuels management or other wildfire mitigation activities;
- State, local, tribal, and community collaboration on wildfire mitigation;
- Community resilience and preparedness activities, including home hardening and defensible space;
- Firefighter training, enhanced benefits, or casualty assistance programs;
- Wildfire research and science associated with managing wildland fire, fuels, and fire impacts to ecosystems and communities;
- Any other programs related to wildfire;
- A list of projects related to the programs listed in question #1 whose implementation or operation was altered in any way after the release of OMB’s now-rescinded January 27, 2025 memo; physical addresses or geographic coordinates for each project; an explanation of how implementation of those projects was changed after January 27, 2025; the number of people that resigned, refused job offers, or were laid off from the projects after January 27, 2025; the total number of acres that were not treated or for which treatment was delayed after January 27, 2025; a list of programs that resumed implementation after the memo was rescinded; and a list of the programs that continue to be paused;
- An explanation of how your agency, in collaboration with other impacted Federal agencies described in question #1, is monitoring how the President’s Executive Orders are impacting wildfire readiness, community preparedness, or hazardous fuels management goals; and
- A timeline for your plans to resume implementation and disbursement of agency processing and funding for programs described in question #1.
Trump urged to restart wildfire prevention and unfreeze federal firefighter hiring: Summary
Democrats, including U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman, Scott Peters and Joe Neguse demanded that Trump unfreeze wildfire mitigation efforts.
They warned of the potential consequences of his decision, saying that safety and preparation will be reduced.
