Creates a new NOAA program to improve wildfire forecasting, detection, and monitoring — covering fire weather (the atmospheric conditions that drive fire starts and spread) and the fire environment (fuels, terrain, and vegetation). The Administrator would run research and deploy new tools like infrared and microwave sensors, drones, and grid-based fuel-moisture assessments, and would stand up a Fire Weather Testbed funded at $4 million a year through 2029. A new Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires chaired by NOAA would align wildfire work across FEMA, the Forest Service, NASA, USGS, Interior, and USDA, with a National Advisory Committee bringing in outside experts from academia, state emergency managers, and broadcasters. The bill also addresses the Incident Meteorologist workforce — the NOAA specialists deployed to active fire incidents — by exempting their emergency-suppression overtime from federal pay caps and ordering an assessment of hiring needs. $5 million is authorized to study drone deployment in active fire conditions, with a prohibition on purchasing drones made in 'foreign countries of concern' (aimed at Chinese manufacturers like DJI). Affects roughly 60 million Americans living in the wildland-urban interface where fire risk is highest, along with emergency managers, utilities, and state forestry agencies that coordinate wildfire response.
Congressional Summary
Fire Weather Development Act of 2025This bill establishes programs and requirements related to wildfire forecasting, detection, and management, particularly with respect to communication and collaboration among officials and first responders.For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must establish a program to improve fire forecasting and service delivery through collaboration between federal, state, and local entities. The program must seek to improve the understanding and prediction of wildfires, the assessment of fire weather, and the timeliness of related communications with state and local officials.Under the program, NOAA mayconduct research and development activities related to fire weather and environments,contract with private entities to obtain airborne and space-based data to support fire prediction and monitoring, andconduct pilot programs to test the use of unmanned aircraft systems (i.e., drones) for fire weather observations.The bill also establishes (1) an interagency committee to coordinate the development of wildfire forecasting and the delivery of related products and services to state and local officials; (2) a national advisory committee to offer recommendations on streamlining federal forecasting information, the management and activities of the interagency committee, and other topics; and (3) a fire weather testbed to enable engagement among governments and other stakeholders.The bill exempts emergency wildfire suppression work performed by incident meteorologists of the National Weather Service from certain premium pay limitations.Finally, the National Institute of Standards and Technology must publish recommendations for improving coordination of communications among first responders and fire management officials.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-06-23
- Date Added
- 2026-04-21
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