Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025
Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025
Plain Language Summary
# Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025 (HR 1923) — Summary **What it does:** This bill aims to improve how the federal government responds to and prevents wildfires. It would expand emergency assistance for wildfire-affected areas, speed up federal payments to disaster victims (requiring payment within 90 days for certain assistance), and make it easier for communities to access grants for wildfire risk reduction and recovery. The bill also expands disaster declarations to cover related hazards like landslides and floods that occur up to three years after a wildfire. These changes are based on recommendations from a 2023 expert commission on wildfire management. **Who it affects:** The bill primarily impacts wildfire-prone states and communities, firefighting personnel, disaster recovery recipients, and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Property owners, local governments, and organizations working on wildfire prevention and recovery would be the main beneficiaries of expanded assistance and faster payments. **Current status:** The bill is currently in committee and has not yet been voted on by the full House of Representatives. It was introduced by Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) in the 119th Congress.
CRS Official Summary
Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025This bill addresses wildfires by expanding emergency and disaster assistance, establishing scientific monitoring, and increasing assistance for firefighting personnel. The bill is based on recommendations in a 2023 report from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, a congressionally established group of public and private experts.The bill expands and expedites federal assistance for wildfire response, recovery, and mitigation byexpanding presidential wildfire emergency and major disaster declarations to include natural hazard events stemming from the wildfire (e.g., landslides, floods) within three years after the fire,requiring payment to recipients within 90 days for certain emergency land restoration and disaster assistance for wildfires, andrequiring increased accessibility of wildfire risk reduction and recovery grants.Additionally, it authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to allow certain emergency and disaster grant recipients to use unexpended management cost funds for five years, including for capacity-building.The bill requires federal agencies to enhance scientific wildfire monitoring and analysis byestablishing a Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center to provide information and services to support community decision-making,establishing a national smoke monitoring and alert system for wildfire smoke, anddeveloping dynamic risk maps.The bill increases assistance for wildland firefighting personnel byestablishing grants to colleges and training programs for educational or vocational programs in wildfire emergency management,increasing flexibility for wildland firefighters to retain retirement benefits, andestablishing assistance (e.g., notification, counseling) for families of wildland firefighting personnel who are critically injured or killed.
Latest Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.