U.S. SENATE – The bipartisan Fire Ready Nation Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Sheehy and Maria Cantwell passed the Senate unanimously on September 10th. Introduced in January, the bill establishes the Fire Weather Services program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to help prevent, forecast, and fight wildfires.
The Fire Ready Nation Act would establish the Fire Weather Services program at NOAA to help prevent, forecast, and fight wildfires. This legislation authorizes funding for NOAA to obtain new technologies to better forecast weather conditions that cause and impact wildfires, increasing our capacity to respond quickly when they occur.
NOAA already plays a major role in wildfire preparedness and response; however, it currently has no defined authority in the law for its wildfire services. Establishing clear responsibility and authority is essential to preventing shifting responsibility and finger-pointing between agencies in the midst of these natural disasters.
This is the second wildfire-focused bill introduced by Senator Sheehy to pass the Senate unanimously since he took office. President Trump signed Senator Sheehy’s bipartisan Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act into law in June.
