Summary

Wildfires can have beneficial and harmful impacts on ecosystems (e.g., by reducing fuel loads, or by damaging communities and timber resources). These impacts are generally measured and discussed based on the priorities of humans in these ecosystems. Federal resources are typically deployed during wildfire season—an annual occurrence of intense wildfire activity typically running from summer into fall—to help manage wildfires and potentially minimize some of the impacts, including the loss of life and property. Approximately 3.6 million acres burned during the 2014 wildfire season, which was less than the 4.3 million acres burned in 2014 and the fewest acres burned since 2010. Acreage burned during the 2014 wildfire season was less than half of the 9.3 million acres burned in 2012, which was the third-largest acreage burned annually since 1960.

Federal funding for wildfire management is provided in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The bill funds wildfire management at the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, which are the two principal entities tasked with federal wildfire management. Federal wildfire response activities involve preparedness, suppression, fuel reduction, site rehabilitation, and more. More than $3.4 billion was appropriated for wildfire management in FY2015. The total wildfire management appropriations for 2014 were more than $3.9 billion and included $600 million for the Forest Service to reimburse wildfire transfers that occurred in FY2013.

Wildfire funding is of concern to many. This is primarily due to interest in the effectiveness of annual wildfire appropriations (e.g., whether the funding is allowing agencies to meet wildfire management targets), the amount of appropriations dedicated to certain wildfire management activities (e.g., whether enough funding is being provided for hazardous fuel reduction), and requests from the agencies for additional appropriations during severe fire activity (e.g., why more funding is needed, and what non-fire programs could be impacted if the agencies fail to receive the additional funding). Congress has provided funding for wildfire management additional to what was granted in the Interior appropriations bill—usually for wildfire suppression—for 7 of the last 10 years, including FY2013 and FY2014. This fact may cause some to question how wildfire funding is structured and wildfire suppression funding estimation methods, among other things.

Proposals to create alternative mechanisms for funding wildfire suppression have been introduced in the 114^th Congress (H.R. 167 and S. 235). Similar bills were introduced in the 113^th Congress as well as proposed by the Administration for FY2015 and FY2016. The proposals would fund wildfire suppression for a select group of fires—theoretically the most extreme fires—by creating a new adjustment to the statutory discretionary spending limits.

This report provides wildfire management appropriations data for FY2011-FY2015 and information on the President's FY2016 budget request for wildland fire management. The report also provides general wildfire management statistics (e.g., numbers of wildfires, acres burned, and firefighter personnel).

Introduction

In 2014, wildfire burned approximately 3.6 million acres.¹ This was below the 10-year average of 6.9 million acres and was the least amount of acreage burned since 2010. The 2014 wildfire season also burned less than half of the 9.3 million acres burned during the 2012 wildfire season. The acreage burned in 2012 was the third-largest annual acreage burned, based on the reporting of fire statistics from 1960 to the present.² Some predict conditions that could lead to more severe wildfire activity potentially occurring in 2015 in certain regions, and possibly an earlier start for the 2015 wildfire season in certain regions due to ongoing drought conditions in the western half of the nation.³ Wildfire (or wildland fire),⁴ an unplanned and unwanted fire, is a concern to some because it can lead to loss of human life,⁵ damage communities and timber resources,⁶ and impact soils, watersheds, water quality, and wildlife.⁷ On the other hand, wildfire can also reduce fuel loads, increase ecosystem health, and restore fire-adapted ecosystems.

There are several ongoing concerns regarding wildfire management. These include the total federal costs of wildfire management, the strategies and resources used for wildfire management, and the impact of wildfire on both the quality of life and the economy of communities surrounding wildfire activity. Many of these issues are deliberated by Congress, with annual wildfire management appropriations being one indicator of how Congress prioritizes and addresses certain wildfire management concerns. More than $3.5 billion was appropriated for wildfire management in FY2015. In FY2014, more than $3.9 billion was appropriated, including $600 million for the Forest Service to reimburse wildfire transfers that occurred in FY2013.

This report provides some general wildfire statistics, and it then briefly describes wildfire management appropriations and related issues.⁸

Wildfire management is a series of coordinated activities undertaken by federal, state, and local authorities to resolve wildfire events when they occur. Resolution may involve immediate and aggressive measures to quickly suppress a wildfire (e.g., personnel and large air tanker response for a wildfire moving quickly toward a populated area), or may involve immediate but less intense measures (e.g., monitoring a grassland wildfire where there is no immediate threat to humans and weather conditions are favorable for natural suppression of the fire within a short time period).

Wildfire management activities are generally categorized into four areas: preparedness, suppression, fuel reduction, and site rehabilitation.

• Preparedness is any activity that leads to a safe, efficient, and cost-effective fire management program, and includes the range of tasks necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to protect against, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents.⁹
• Suppression is all of the work associated with extinguishing or confining a fire.¹⁰
• Fuel reduction is manipulation (including combustion) or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control.¹¹
• Site rehabilitation includes efforts undertaken, generally within three years of a wildfire, to repair or improve fire-damaged lands unlikely to recover to a management-approved condition within a specified time frame, or actions taken to repair or replace minor facilities damaged by fire.¹²

A number of federal, state, and local agencies can and do respond to wildfire.¹³ Sometimes more than one agency may respond, depending on where the fire occurs, the potential threats, and the expertise required. In these cases, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)¹⁴ coordinates the national mobilization of resources for wildfire and other incidents throughout the United States.¹⁵

NIFC reports that in 2014, there were 63,212 wildfires and 3.6 million acres burned (data compiled from federal and state agencies).¹⁶ More fires burned in 2014 than 2013, although fewer acres burned. More detailed statistics on the 2014 fire season are not yet available. However, of the 47,579 wildfires that burned over 4.3 million acres in 2013, less than 2% were classified as large or significant wildfires.¹⁷ Approximately 71% of the number of wildfires reported in 2013 occurred on state or other land, but approximately 68% of the acres burned were on federal land (2.9 million acres). The Forest Service (FS) had the largest percentage (15%) of wildfires in 2013, in terms of number of fires occurring on federal land. The FS and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had the largest percentage of acres burned on federal land, at 32% (0.9 million acres) and 23% (0.7 million acres), respectively.

Appropriations for preparedness are used to support efforts that assist with fire prevention and detection, equipment, training, and baseline personnel. The FS uses preparedness funds to establish and maintain web-based decision support tools, manage aviation assets, and offer predictive service analysis, among other things. DOI uses preparedness funds to protect people and property from wildfire with the use of fire management plans, cooperative agreements, infrastructure support, and more.

For the last five years, the preparedness activity for both the FS and DOI has received the largest or second-largest share of total WFM account appropriations. There was an increase of close to 50% in FS preparedness funding from FY2011 ($673.7 million) to FY2012 ($1,004.4 million). This was mostly due to a restructuring of the preparedness and suppression activities, which included shifting aviation charges and other charges to the preparedness activity. The funding level for the DOI preparedness activity saw minor fluctuations from FY2011 through FY2014 but increased 10% with the FY2015 appropriation ($319.0 million).

Funds for suppression typically are provided through two accounts in annual Interior appropriation laws: the WFM account and the FLAME account. In addition, other appropriation laws, such as supplemental laws, sometimes provide additional suppression funds for these accounts. This section of the report focuses on appropriations to the suppression activity under the WFM account. FLAME and additional suppression appropriations are discussed in the FLAME section and the additional funding section.

WFM suppression appropriations are used primarily for wildfire response. The FS reports that funding from this subaccount is used to "efficiently suppress wildland fires on or threatening National Forest System lands and other Federal and non-Federal lands under fire protection agreements."²⁴ Some items covered by the FS suppression subaccount are firefighter salaries, aviation asset operations, incident support function, and suppression resources for DOI incidents on a reciprocal non-reimbursement basis. The FS suppression subaccount also covers personnel and resources for the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program.²⁵ DOI reports that wildfire response activities range from "intensive suppression when wildfires on public lands threaten communities, high value resources, or critical ecosystems, to monitoring wildfires in areas where burning accomplishes resource benefits or where it is too dangerous to place firefighters."²⁶ Items covered by the DOI suppression subaccount include select personnel expenses above what is covered by the preparedness subaccount, temporary emergency firefighters, and aircraft flight operations and support. Both the FS and DOI typically request suppression funds based on the 10-year suppression average. The 10-year suppression average is more fully explored in the "Related Issues" section.

The suppression subaccount received the greatest level of funding compared to all other WFM activities for the FS from FY2006 to FY2011 and for DOI from FY2008 to FY2011. However, from FY2012 to FY2015, appropriations provided for the FS suppression activity were second to the appropriations provided for the preparedness activity due to budget restructuring that occurred in FY2012.²⁷ From FY2012 through FY2014, appropriations provided for the DOI suppression activity and the DOI preparedness activity were roughly equivalent, within $5 million of each other. However, the FY2015 appropriation for DOI suppression activity is $27 million below the FY2015 preparedness activity.

In FY2015 and again in FY2016, the Administration proposed a new funding mechanism for wildfire suppression activities, which included eliminating the FLAME reserve account. Therefore, the Administration did not request an appropriation to the FLAME reserve account either year (Congress did not adopt the FY2015 proposal). Currently, wildfire suppression is funded by appropriations that are subject to the statutory discretionary spending limits established in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.³⁴ The Administration's proposal would maintain this funding stream for most wildfire suppression operations, but it also would establish a new adjustment to the discretionary limits that could be used to fund the most extreme fires in emergency situations. In FY2016, the maximum amount of this adjustment would be $1.5 billion; this amount would increase each fiscal year until FY2022, when it would be $2.7 billion.³⁵ This adjustment would allow FS and DOI to request additional wildfire suppression funds—up to the maximum amount of the adjustment each fiscal year—that effectively would not be subject to the discretionary limits. The FS asserts that "fire suppression costs are skyrocketing and seriously jeopardizing [the FS's] ability to fund [the FS] natural resource mission."³⁶ The FS reports that the proposed strategy would "minimize the risk of fire transfers and provide greater stability and certainty of funding to other programs that support critical forest and rangeland management needs."³⁷ Similar legislative proposals have been introduced in the 114^th Congress (H.R. 167 and S. 235).

The FS and DOI are authorized to transfer funds from other programs and accounts to fund wildfire suppression, typically when wildfire suppression accounts have been depleted. Transfer authority is granted in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies annual appropriations bill, specifically in the general provisions Section 102 for DOI and in the administrative provisions for the FS. The accounts from which funds were transferred have historically been reimbursed in the following fiscal year's appropriation act.

Such transfers of funds can have an impact on the ability of the agency to fulfill its other responsibilities.³⁸ Further, some surmise these fire transfers disrupt the congressional budget process.³⁹ When wildfire suppression funding is exhausted, Congress—sometimes outside of its regular budget schedule—faces a decision as to whether to reimburse the accounts from which funding was transferred. If a reimbursement decision is made after the end of the fiscal year when the transfers were made, it could create confusion about how much suppression funding is needed for the coming fiscal year during the appropriations process. Further, fire transfers may require the modification or suspension of a non-wildfire program if funding from that program is being transferred to wildfire suppression.⁴⁰

Wildfire management suppression appropriations are of considerable interest to Congress. This is partly because of the amount of funding allocated for wildfire management suppression, but also because of scrutiny about the accuracy of annual WFM suppression estimates provided to Congress. In some cases, wildfire management suppression estimates for a fiscal year provided by federal land management agencies have fallen short of what is needed. Additional funds may then have to be provided via additional appropriations, and funds may also have to be transferred from non-wildfire management suppression accounts, which may impact the performance of those activities.

For at least the last two decades, the FS and DOI have estimated annual wildfire suppression outyear costs by using a 10-year suppression average.⁴¹ The FS reports the moving 10-year average calculation based on actual suppression obligations reported at the end of the fiscal year. Each end-of-year obligation is adjusted to constant dollars. Once an average is calculated, $350 million is subtracted to account for an FY2012 budget restructure in which funding was transferred from the suppression subaccount to the preparedness subaccount.⁴²

FLAME requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to submit to Congress a report at least three times throughout the year that contains estimates of anticipated wildfire suppression costs. Further, FLAME requires the FS and DOI to submit wildfire suppression cost estimates using the best available climate, weather, and other relevant data, and models and other analytical tools. This estimation is made using econometric models which include weather and climate variables.⁴³ For instance, the FS estimated with 90% confidence that wildfire suppression expenditures for FY2015 will range from $714 million to $1.5 billion, with a median forecast of $1.1 billion.⁴⁴ DOI estimated with 90% confidence that wildfire suppression expenditures for FY2015 will range from $247 million to $466 million, with a median forecast of $356 million.⁴⁵ Further, the September 2014 FLAME analysis indicates that from 2004 to 2013, annual observed FS wildfire suppression costs exceeded the FLAME forecasts six times, while the annual observed DOI wildfire suppression costs exceeded the FLAME forecasts seven times.⁴⁶

Wildfire suppression funding estimates depend on multiple factors (e.g., weather, fuel load, nearby dwellings, access to wildfire site), and numerous reasons have been given as to why suppression estimates have at times not accurately forecast the needed suppression appropriations, with estimates typically underestimating suppression spending. Wildfire suppression is complicated, and both the efficiency of resources used for wildfire suppression and the federal protocol for wildfire management have an impact on wildfire suppression funding.

Both Congress and the Administration have voiced concerns about rising wildfire suppression spending, and have explored multiple options that could limit requests for additional suppression appropriations.⁴⁷ Some cost-containment options include

• using an improved formula to better estimate wildfire suppression costs (e.g., a 5-year average, a weighted 10-year average),⁴⁸
• using regression models to better estimate WFM suppression costs and non-biophysical policy remedies that might reduce wildfire suppression expenditures (e.g., guidelines about when it is appropriate not to aggressively suppress wildfires),⁴⁹
• increasing hazardous fuels reduction projects,⁵⁰ and
• requiring state and local governments, and private landowners in the WUI, to improve current wildfire management strategies and bear more of the firefighting costs.⁵¹

Two proposals to create alternative mechanisms for funding wildfire suppression have been introduced to date in the 114^th Congress (H.R. 167 and S. 235). These bills are similar to proposals from the 113^th Congress (S. 1875 and H.R. 3992) as well as to proposals in the Administration's Wildfire Management Request in FY2015 and FY2016, discussed above.⁵² H.R. 167 and S. 235 would fund wildfire suppression for a select group of fires—theoretically the most extreme fires—by creating a new cap adjustment to the statutory discretionary spending limits. The proposals also would treat larger wildfires as natural disasters. It is not clear if the proposed legislation would limit how much funding is spent on wildfire suppression.

Acknowledgments

This report was originally written by [author name scrubbed], CRS Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural Resources Policy. The listed contact has updated the report and is available to respond to inquiries on the subject.

Footnotes