As drought deepens across much of the West, lawmakers used a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands oversight hearing to press U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Tom Schultz on whether the agency is prepared for what could be another challenging wildfire season.
The hearing on June 5 came as the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) wildfire outlook forecasts above-normal wildfire potential across large portions of the West through summer and into early fall.
According to the NIFC outlook, more than 2.4 million acres had already burned nationwide by May 31, nearly double the 10-year average for the same period. Forecasters pointed to worsening drought, a lack of snowpack and above-normal temperatures as factors likely to drive fire activity in the coming months.
“The status quo is failing our forests, our firefighters, and the growing number of communities that live with the threat of catastrophic wildfire every year,” Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) said during his opening remarks.
NIFC regional outlook
According to the NIFC outlook, much of the western U.S. is expected to face elevated wildfire risk throughout the summer and into early fall. The Northwest is among the areas of greatest concern, with above-normal fire potential forecast across eastern Oregon and Washington beginning in June before expanding across nearly the entire region by August and September.
The outlook also highlights the central Great Basin and much of the Rocky Mountain region as areas likely to experience above-normal fire activity. Elevated fire potential is forecast during June across Utah, western Colorado, portions of the Great Basin and the Greater Four Corners region. While summer monsoon moisture may help moderate conditions in parts of Arizona and New Mexico later in the season, NIFC expects heightened wildfire risk to persist across western Colorado, Utah and portions of the northern Great Basin into July and August.
In Wyoming, the Powder River Basin was specifically identified as having above-normal fire potential during June, while elevated risk also extends across portions of eastern Montana near the Canadian border. NIFC noted that drought is expected to persist across much of the northern two-thirds of the West through August.
The Southwest presents a more mixed outlook. Above-normal fire potential is expected through June across much of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Still, conditions could improve later in the summer if the North American monsoon develops as forecast. NIFC cautioned that widespread drought, warm temperatures and increasingly dry fuels could support rapid fire growth until meaningful rainfall arrives.
Schultz highlights preparedness
Against that backdrop, Schultz defended the agency’s readiness heading into the heart of the fire season.
“Wildfire readiness and response remains one of our most urgent responsibilities,” Schultz told lawmakers. “We’re prioritizing rapid, aggressive initial response so that we can keep fires small.”
Schultz told the committee that USFS has hired more than 11,000 firefighters and expects to reach 11,300 firefighters by July. The agency has also expanded its pool of trained support personnel and firefighting contractors ahead of the summer fire season. He said that despite the highest number of wildfire starts on national forest lands in nearly 10 years during fiscal year 2025, acres burned remained about half the 10-year average, while the agency recorded its strongest initial attack success rate in 12 years.
Still, a major point of contention during the hearing involved hazardous fuels reduction work.
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-02) highlighted a recent analysis showing USFS completed approximately 35% fewer acres of hazardous fuels treatments in 2025 than in 2024. He questioned whether staffing reductions and policy changes under the Trump administration contributed to the decline.
Neguse cited a study by the Center for Western Priorities, which found that the USFS treated approximately 2.6 million acres through prescribed fire, mechanical thinning and other fuels-reduction projects during calendar year 2025, down from about 4.1 million acres the previous year.
Schultz pushed back on the assertion that fuel work had declined significantly. He told lawmakers that treatment totals fluctuate annually and that most of the decline occurred in the South rather than in western states facing the highest wildfire threats. According to Schultz, the agency has already treated approximately 2.2 million acres during fiscal year 2026, putting the agency ahead of last year’s pace.
Forest management
In addition to fuel reduction, lawmakers addressed forest management practices.
Republicans emphasized active forest management, timber harvesting and passage of the Fix Our Forests Act as tools to reduce wildfire risks and improve forest health.
“When we stop managing forests, nature eventually does it for us, usually through insects, disease, and fires,” Tiffany said.
Democrats raised concerns about workforce reductions, proposed budget cuts and the future of research and forestry assistance programs. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) said USFS has lost roughly 25% of its workforce since early 2025 and called a reported 35% decline in hazardous fuels treatments “very alarming to anyone who lives in fire country.”
While opinions differed on how best to address the problem, lawmakers on both sides acknowledged that the conditions facing federal forests this summer are increasingly severe. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
