Laurenz Busch Chronicle Staff Writer
May 7, 2025
Amid numerous bipartisan endeavors in the U.S. Senate to revamp the country’s wildfire response apparatus, Sen. Tim Sheehy and fellow Republicans are now looking toward Pres. Trump to expedite change with executive power.
In a letter sent Wednesday, 17 Republicans praised Trump’s recent mention of a Federal Wildland Fire Service to provide a “streamlined approach to wildfire response,” and urged him to take “immediate, decisive action”.
“While some improvements to our federal wildfire response will require congressional action,” the group wrote, “we believe executive action offers the most immediate path to fostering interagency cohesion, streamlining outdated processes, and ensuring a robust response to wildfires.”
Sheehy has previously cited the recent fires around Los Angeles that burned some 11,500 homes and $275 billion in damages as a sure sign fire season is a year-round problem.
With his background as the co-founder of Bridger Aerospace, he expected he’d attempt to tackle the issue, but he’s said he hadn’t planned on it from the get-go.
“After L.A., it’s clear now’s the time,” Sheehy recently told the Chronicle.