Data analyzed by the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters shows that prescribed fires and other hazardous fuel reduction efforts have fallen substantially across the West this year.
Prescribed fires, mechanical thinning and other ways to reduce those fuels are among the most important tools for reducing the risks of catastrophic wildfire, and also bring numerous ecological benefits to landscapes that depend on fire to thrive. But Grassroots Wildland Firefighters found that through the end of September, fuels reduction projects were down roughly 38% compared to the average for the same period over the previous four years.
The new analysis finds that [the U.S. Forest Service] has fallen far behind on its efforts to mitigate the risk of wildfire since the [Department of Government Efficiency] cuts to staff and resources,” the group said in a release, referencing major federal government layoffs in early 2025. “The data contradicts public assurances from senior administration officials that federal land management agencies have the staffing levels and resources necessary to adequately prepare for and respond to wildfires.”
The Forest Service did not respond to a request for comment, but told the Washington Post that “preventative wildfire risk reduction remains a top priority for the Forest Service.”
In a mid-September letter reported by Politico, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz pointed to “operational challenges” as a factor behind his agency’s difficulty in carrying out hazardous fuels work this year. Those included significant early year fire activity, which extended well into the season, as well as regular deployments to Canada that cut into resources available for fuels work.
“The continued high level of fire activity and extreme conditions in the West are requiring significant resources and personnel, which has constrained our capacity to treat additional acres,” he wrote roughly two months ago.
In a recent message welcoming staff back to work, Schultz said that staff were able to carry out “127,000 acres of prescribed fire to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to communities” during the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.
But Grassroots’ Bobbie Scopa, a retired firefighter with over four decades of experience, said it will be difficult to make up lost ground this year, and that’s bad news.
“Think about your bank account,” she said. “It builds because you keep getting interest and it compounds on itself. Well, we're like in reverse with fire. We've got all this work backlog work that needs to get done, and every year that you don't do it, it gets worse. I mean, physically on the ground, it gets worse: there's more fuel and there's more dead trees and there's more brush that grows.”
But the group did find wide variation in the West: Idaho and Montana sat at 21% and 28% of recent annual averages respectively, the two lowest figures. But at 90%, Utah got close.
“Utah is doing great, and so God bless them,” Scopa said.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
