Multiple Wildfire Departments Unified for Preparedness and Modernization – New U.S. Wildland Fire Service

The Department of the Interior announced the establishment of the  U.S. Wildland Fire Service. Interior also appointed new leadership to oversee the implementation of the new service with the vision of unifying the wildland fire management programs across the Department’s bureaus and offices. In simple terms — rather than multiple agencies each running their own wildland fire programs, there will be one federal service called in during large wildfire emergencies.

Wildfires are increasing in size, intensity and cost, resulting in significant impacts to communities, infrastructure, tribal trust assets, agriculture and local economies nationwide. In addition to threatening lives and property, wildfires pose risks to public health, energy systems, water supplies and national security.

Impact on Rhode Island

The direct impact on everyday wildfire fighting is likely modest — because RI’s wildfire risk is inherently lower than in the West. Despite being the smallest state, Rhode Island is more than half wooded, which increases wildfire risk during droughts and windy spring conditions, makes forest management, brush clearing, and prescribed burns relevant even here, and ties directly into air quality and climate resilience planning.

Indirect benefits are more likely through improved federal coordination, training resources, grant opportunities, and air quality monitoring assistance. Local fire departments and state programs may see some administrative or procedural changes if federal interagency systems become more centralized.

Underbrush is the real issue in Southern New England

In Southern New England, fires are rarely driven by towering flames in big trees. They’re driven by:

• Leaf litter (oak leaves especially)

• Dense understory shrubs

• Deadfall and storm debris

• Invasive brush (often denser and more flammable)

This creates fast-moving surface fires that spread quickly with wind—exactly what happened in Exeter.

What prescribed burning actually does

When done correctly, prescribed fire removes accumulated leaf litter and fine fuels, thins dense underbrush that allows fire to “run”, reduces flame length and spread potential, makes future fires easier and safer to control, and improves forest health and wildlife habitat

In oak-pine systems like much of Rhode Island, low-intensity fire is natural—it’s the absence of fire for decades that creates dangerous conditions.

Why it’s been limited in Rhode Island

Even though it’s effective, prescribed burning has been underused in RI because of:

Smoke sensitivity

• Dense population

• Proximity to homes, schools, highways

• Air quality regulations and public concern

. Narrow burn windows

• Must hit exact combinations of:

  • Wind direction & speed

  • Humidity

  • Fuel moisture

  • No drought emergency

• In RI, those windows are often only a few days per year

. Liability & staffing

• Requires trained crews, planning, permits, and insurance

• Smaller states have fewer dedicated burn teams

The Last Exeter, RI fire: why underbrush mattered

The Exeter fire spread rapidly because of years of unburned leaf litter and brush acting like kindling at a time of dry spring conditions. With wind, the fire moved along the ground faster than expected. This is classic Southern New England wildfire behavior—not dramatic flames, but speed. Prescribed burning before that fire could have slowed spread, reduced flame intensity, and created safer anchor points for firefighters

What’s changing now (and why this matters)

With the federal push toward unified wildland fire management, states like Rhode Island may see:

🔹 More prescribed fire support – with training standards, shared burn teams, and federal technical assistance

🔹 More emphasis on fuel treatment, not just suppression. Controlled burns, Mechanical thinning, and Brush removal near homes

🔹 Better public education – Framing smoke from planned burns as preventive, not a failure

This matters because Rhode Island is over half forested, and much of that forest is adjacent to homes.

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Strengthening Coordination 

“Wildfire does not discriminate. It impacts rural towns and major cities, businesses and families alike,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Department of the Interior is taking decisive steps to strengthen coordination and preparedness as we confront an escalating wildfire challenge.”

Currently, wildland fire management responsibilities within the Department of the Interior are distributed across multiple bureaus and offices, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Office of Aviation Services, and the Office of Wildland Fire. While these programs have long worked together, the existing structure requires coordination across separate organizations.

Establishing a unified U.S. Wildland Fire Service will streamline decision-making, improve operational efficiency and enhance the Department’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to wildfire threats. The vision behind a new service is to better protect lives, communities, critical infrastructure and public and tribal lands through a more integrated wildland fire management approach.

New Leadership brings California Wildfire Experience

Brian Fennessy will oversee the creation of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, bringing decades of experience leading large, complex wildfire response operations in California.

“Wildfire response depends on coordination, clarity and speed,” Chief Brian Fennessy said. “This initial planning effort is about bringing programs together, strengthening cooperation across the Department and building a framework that better supports firefighters and the communities they serve. I want to thank Secretary Burgum for this opportunity to serve in this role and look forward to working alongside of the brave men and women of the fire community.”

Fennessy comes to Interior with extensive experience in wildland and structural fire management. He previously served as Chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and as Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, one of the largest fire departments in California. Fennessy began his career with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and throughout his distinguished career, he has led wildfire suppression, aviation operations, and emergency response during some of the state’s most challenging fire seasons, while building strong partnerships with federal, state, local, and Tribal partners.

Modernizing the nation’s wildfire response mitigation, and prevention framework is outlined in Executive Order 14308, Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response. The creation of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service will position the Department of the Interior to meet evolving wildfire challenges and support a more coordinated and effective approach to safeguarding people, landscapes and natural resources.

Meeting Today’s Wildfire Crisis 

Fires are costing the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars annually, damaging infrastructure, disrupting agriculture, driving up food prices and threatening lives and livelihoods. Decades of insufficient forest management – such as fuel build-up, invasive species spread and delayed treatments – have created conditions where wildfires burn hotter, faster and more destructively.

Fire seasons are longer, fire intensity is increasing, and suppression and recovery costs are soaring. Beyond landscapes, wildfires now pose risks to national security, public health, energy and water supplies.

The USWFS will unify Interior’s fire bureaus and align operations with the Department of Agriculture through shared procurement, predictive services, research and policy reforms.

Strategic Priorities for Reform 

The plan will focus on five interdependent priorities:

• Address systemic inefficiencies and modernize aviation and coordination systems
  • Create a joint federal firefighting aircraft service
  • Consolidate predictive services into a national intelligence capability
• Strengthen interagency wildfire coordination and response
  • Modernize and right-size qualifications and training
  • Standardize the Emergency Firefighter Program
• Improve federal partnerships and reduce administrative burden
  • Streamline cooperative agreements
  • Establish a joint contracting, procurement and payment center
• Ensure wildfire research, technology, and IT investments are mission-ready
  • Build a modern, cohesive Wildfire Enterprise IT System
  • Modernize personal protective equipment standards to better safeguard firefighters
• Integrate pre- and post-fire activities into a complete wildfire strategy
  • Deploy a unified wildfire risk mapping tool
  • Establish a consistent Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation framework
  • Expand beneficial use of biomass and residual forest products

Wildfire Fighting Workforce Implications

The Departments reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the wildfire workforce. Permanent pay reform is now law, ensuring competitive wages for federal and tribal firefighters. To prevent financial disincentives during peak fire seasons, the fiscal year 2026 budget requests an extension of the premium pay cap waiver.

As part of this process, Interior will provide ample opportunity for states, tribes, local governments and the private sector to contribute suggestions on how to improve the federal wildfire response system

This historic effort to modernize wildfire management will protect lives, safeguard communities, sustain infrastructure and support the long-term resilience of America’s forests and rangelands while enhancing national security and economic competitiveness. Successful implementation will also depend on continued support from Congress to provide the necessary appropriations and authorities to sustain these reforms.