President Donald Trump is again making headlines for advancing his anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and pro-border security agenda. This time, it’s in the wildfire policy scene. By restructuring the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) offices and firing around 3,400 USFS workers since the inauguration, the Trump administration is resetting how the federal government prevents and fights wildfires across the country.
There are always risks involved when the Executive Branch works to fix an agency. Yet, the changes the Trump administration is making show every sign of increasing federal wildfire-fighting effectiveness in the long run.
In January 2026, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced the creation of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service—a new entity that integrates different offices in the Department of the Interior (DOI) that address wildfires under its umbrella control. Secretary Burgum, at the time, argued that establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service would “strengthen coordination and preparedness as we confront an escalating wildfire challenge.” This is called consolidation. It is not, despite what some critics may say, closing operations.
The federal reset in wildfire prevention policy is reducing duplicative bureaucracy and wasteful spending. As a result, it shows promise to continue an already positive trend: a reduction in wildfire volume since the Trump administration took office. 2024 had significantly more acres burned (8.9 million acres) nationwide compared to 2025 (5.1 million acres), according to the National Interagency Fire Center. This is a 43% decrease.
Since federal land constitutes around 28% of all U.S. territory, sound federal wildfire policy is paramount for preventing catastrophic, high-intensity wildfires.
That federal policy should involve no-nonsense measures, such as greater controlled burns and brush clearing across high-risk areas. President Trump’s centralization of federal wildfire policy decision-making under a single entity will enable just that.
The opposite is also true: When wildfire prevention is done haphazardly, rather than strategically, the results are very negative. Take Oregon’s Bootleg fire in 2021: The aftermath of Oregon’s Bootleg fire was a case study in how preventative measures go a long way towards achieving results. In that case, areas that received no prior treatment were ravaged by the fire, while the healthiest and most resilient section was the combined thinning and prescribed fire section.
Despite the progress being made under the Trump administration, wildfires remain a serious issue facing our country. Over the past 20 years, while the yearly amount of wildfires stayed constant, the size of the wildfires increased. In 2025, every single U.S. state suffered from wildfires, with California alone experiencing over 9,000 different large fires. Between 2010 and 2020, 76% of high-intensity wildfires out West were attributed to human ignition—not climate change—as California lawmakers always argue.
Now, the smoke, so to speak, may be finally clearing. With a more organized structure to fight deadly flames, America can put its best foot forward towards combating wildfires. The new U.S. Wildland Fire Service is well-poised to increase effectiveness by crafting a strategy for prescribed burns and mechanical thinning.