Western Wildfire Support Act of 2026

This bill addresses wildfires by authorizing post-fire recovery activities, supporting adoption of technology, and requiring additional federal coordination.

The bill authorizes federal wildfire response and recovery activities by

• providing statutory authority for Burned Area Emergency Response Teams to coordinate emergency stabilization and erosion planning, and
• establishing an account to fund federal rehabilitation projects in areas impacted by a wildfire (e.g., ecosystem restoration, replacing infrastructure critical for land management).

Additionally, for all hazard types, the bill includes post-disaster assistance in the federal disaster preparedness program and authorizes assistance to states for operating websites to provide information on post-disaster recovery resources.

The bill requires federal agencies to develop and utilize technologies for managing wildfires by

• expediting the permitting and use of wildfire detection equipment (e.g., sensors, cameras);
• providing funding to Indian tribes for slip-on tanker units that convert vehicles into fire engines;
• performing research and development on wildfire response applications of unmanned aircraft systems (e.g., drones);
• studying radio communications systems, situational awareness tools, and wildland fire predictive modeling; and
• administering a prize competition for technological innovation for managing wildfire-related invasive species.

The bill directs federal agencies to plan and coordinate on wildfire management by

• incorporating the best available science and planning tools into spatial fire management policies for federal lands,
• collaborating with state agencies for mutual aid in fire suppression (including reimbursing states for suppressing fires caused by military operations), and
• studying training gaps for integrating structural (e.g., local) firefighters into wildfire response.