{"id":416753,"date":"2026-01-19T14:02:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/416753\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T14:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:02:24","slug":"interior-to-launch-u-s-wildland-fire-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/416753\/","title":{"rendered":"Interior to Launch U.S. Wildland Fire Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of the Interior today announced<\/a> it is taking the next step to\u00a0establish\u00a0the U.S. Wildland Fire Service<\/a>.\u00a0Interior\u00a0appointed\u00a0a\u00a0new\u00a0leader to oversee the\u00a0implementation\u00a0of the new service\u00a0with the vision of\u00a0unifying\u00a0the\u00a0wildland fire management programs across the Department\u2019s bureaus and offices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wildfires are increasing in size,\u00a0intensity\u00a0and cost, resulting in significant impacts to communities, infrastructure,\u00a0tribal\u00a0trust assets,\u00a0agriculture\u00a0and local economies nationwide. In addition to threatening lives and property, wildfires pose risks to public health, energy systems, water\u00a0supplies\u00a0and national security.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWildfire does not discriminate. It\u00a0impacts\u00a0rural towns and major cities,\u00a0businesses\u00a0and families alike,\u201d said\u00a0Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. \u201cThanks to President Trump\u2019s leadership, the Department of the Interior is taking decisive steps to strengthen coordination and preparedness as we confront an escalating wildfire challenge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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,\u00a0Fish and Wildlife Service,\u00a0National Park Service, Office of Aviation Services,\u00a0and the\u00a0Office of Wildland Fire. While these programs have long worked together, the existing structure requires coordination across separate organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Establishing a unified U.S. Wildland Fire Service\u00a0will\u00a0streamline decision-making, improve operational\u00a0efficiency\u00a0and enhance the Department\u2019s ability to respond quickly and effectively to wildfire threats. The\u00a0vision behind a new\u00a0service is to better protect lives, communities, critical\u00a0infrastructure\u00a0and public and\u00a0tribal\u00a0lands\u00a0through a more integrated\u00a0wildland fire management approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interior selected Brian Fennessy to oversee the\u00a0creation\u00a0of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, bringing decades of experience leading large, complex wildfire response operations in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWildfire response depends on coordination, clarity and speed,\u201d\u00a0Chief\u00a0Brian Fennessy said. \u201cThis\u00a0initial\u00a0planning effort is about bringing programs together, strengthening cooperation across the Department and building a framework that better supports firefighters and the communities they serve.\u00a0I\u00a0want\u00a0to thank\u00a0Secretary Burgum for this opportunity to serve in this role and look forward to working\u00a0alongside of the brave men and women of the fire community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0Fennessy 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\u2019s most challenging fire seasons, while building strong partnerships with federal, state, local, and Tribal\u00a0partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Modernizing the nation\u2019s wildfire response\u00a0mitigation,\u00a0and prevention framework\u00a0is a priority\u00a0of\u00a0the Trump Administration, as\u00a0outlined\u00a0in\u00a0Executive Order 14308,\u00a0Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response<\/a>. 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. \u00a0<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of the Interior today announced it is taking the next step to\u00a0establish\u00a0the U.S. Wildland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-416753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}