To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.
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Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-429, Part I.
This bill sets out requirements for wildfire suppression and management activities carried out by the Forest Service.
These requirements apply to Forest Service land that (1) has a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought intensity rating; (2) has a National Wildland Fire Preparedness level of 5 (i.e., the highest level of wildland fire activity); or (3) is located in a fireshed ranked in the top 10% of wildfire exposure.
Within 24 hours of detecting a wildfire on such Forest Service land, the service must use all available resources to extinguish the wildfire. Additionally, the service may not inhibit the firefighting activities of state and local agencies that are authorized to respond to wildfires on the Forest Service land.
Further, the service may only initiate a backfire or burnout as part of a fire suppression strategy if it is ordered by the responsible incident commander or is necessary to protect the health and safety of firefighting personnel. The service must use all available resources to control any initiated fire until it is extinguished.
The bill also limits the service's use of prescribed fires (i.e., the controlled application of fire by a team of experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire). When using prescribed fires as a fire resource management tool, the service must comply with applicable laws and regulations and immediately suppress any prescribed fire that exceeds its prescription.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES
- AMERICAN PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION FKA PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURERS ASSOC. OF AMERICA
- DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
- SIERRA CLUB
- AMERICAN PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION FKA PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURERS ASSOC. OF AMERICA
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES
Bodies those filers lobbied
- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
- SENATE
- Transportation, Dept of (DOT)
- Treasury, Dept of
- Agriculture, Dept of (USDA)
- Interior, Dept of (DOI)
- Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
- Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS)
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 178: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-178/
"H.R. 178: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-178/.
H.R. 178, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-178/.
[H.R. 178: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-178/)