Senate Fix Our Forests Act Gets Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Curtis (R-Utah), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) applauded the continued progress of their Senate version of the Fix Our Forests Act, as it received a legislative hearing this afternoon in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The bipartisan legislation would help combat catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive.
The comprehensive Senate bill reflects months of bipartisan Senate negotiations to find consensus on how to best improve forest management practices, accelerate processes to protect communities, advance watershed restoration, and strengthen partnerships between federal agencies, states, tribes, and private stakeholders. The Senate version of the bill would also bolster coordination efforts across agencies through a new Wildfire Intelligence Center, which would streamline the federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combating wildfires.
A one-pager on the Senate Fix Our Forests Act is available here. A list of provisions particularly impactful for California is available here.
“The status quo around wildfires isn’t working. To protect our communities from these disasters, we have to work together across the aisle to reassess how we prevent and mitigate wildfires,” said Senator Padilla. “Our Fix Our Forests Act represents important bipartisan progress, not just in reducing wildfire risk in and around our national forests, but in protecting urban areas and our efforts to slash climate emissions. I am glad to see the bill continue to move through the Senate and will keep fighting to advance forward-thinking, practical solutions to the wildfire crisis because if we can help prevent even one more community from the devastation California has experienced, it’ll be worth it.”
“Utah and the American West are on the front lines of raging wildfires—and the longer we wait, the more acres will burn, and the more families will be impacted,” said Senator Curtis. “I’m encouraged to see our Fix Our Forests Act receive a hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee today. Our legislation reflects months of consensus-building, and I’m confident that spirit will continue as the bill is considered by the Committee and, later, by the full Senate.”
“The wildfire crisis is here – and climate change is making it worse,” said Senator Hickenlooper. “Our bipartisan bill matches the urgency to protect our communities and the environment. We’re glad the committee is moving fast – this crisis won’t wait.”
“As we work to create more good-paying jobs and support those on the frontlines protecting communities from catastrophic wildfire, better stewarding our forests is something we can all agree on, regardless of party. The Fix Our Forests Act is a bipartisan, commonsense solution that helps secure a stronger economy, more resilient, healthy forests, and safer communities,” said Senator Sheehy.
The American West has long been prone to wildfires, but prolonged drought and the buildup of dry fuels have increasingly intensified these fires and extended fire seasons. Wildfires today are more catastrophic — growing larger, spreading faster, and burning more land than ever before. Nationwide, total acres burned rose from 2.7 million in 2023 to nearly 9 million in 2024, a 231 percent increase.
California averages more than 7,500 wildfires a year. Not including the recent Los Angeles fires, six of the top 10 most destructive fires, three of the top five deadliest fires, and all of the state’s nine largest fires have burned since 2017. The status quo is simply unsustainable, and responding to the scale and magnitude of the crisis on the ground is essential to keeping California communities safe.
Additionally, wildfires release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate climate change. California’s 2020 fire season, the worst on record, emitted enough greenhouse gases to erase nearly two decades of progress on emissions reductions in California. Addressing this wildfire emergency is critical to ensuring that our climate progress is not undermined by the devastating impacts of these fires.
The Western Governors’ Association recently expressed their strong support of the Senate version of the Fix Our Forests Act:
“Western Governors have long supported several policies which are included in the Fix Our Forests Act. Shared stewardship, prescribed fire, and other management strategies addressed in the bill are imperative to the health and resilience of forests and the communities that live among them. The Western Governors’ Association applauds the bipartisan efforts of U.S. Senators John Curtis (R-UT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) to address these issues of critical importance to the West. WGA encourages swift consideration of this important piece of legislation by the full Senate.”
Last month, Senators Padilla, Curtis, Hickenlooper, and Sheehy announced growing support from state and local government officials, community leaders, and industry stakeholders for the Senate version of the Fix Our Forests Act. Padilla also recently joined federal and state emergency officials for a tour of the Pacific Palisades fire recovery area led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he highlighted the importance of passing the bipartisan bill.
In the aftermath of the devastating Southern California fires, Senator Padilla has introduced more than 10 bills to help prevent and respond to future disasters. In February, Padilla introduced bipartisan legislation to create a national Wildfire Intelligence Center to streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combat wildfires. He also announced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts, including the Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act, the Wildfire Emergency Act, and the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act. In January, Padilla introduced another suite of bipartisan bills to strengthen wildfire recovery and resilience, including the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, the Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance Act, and the Disaster Housing Reform for American Families Act. Additionally, last month, he introduced the FEMA Independence Act, bipartisan legislation to restore the FEMA as an independent, cabinet-level agency and improve efficiency in federal emergency response efforts.
More information on today’s hearing is available here.
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