As the 2026 wildfire season breaks records across the Pacific Northwest and the nation, policymakers, fire managers, and researchers are pressing harder on a longstanding question: is the United States funding wildfire preparedness, prevention, and suppression at a level commensurate with the growing threat? The early evidence from this season suggests the answer is no.
A Season for the Record Books
Through mid-August, 46,509 wildfires have burned 6.4 million acres nationally in 2026 — 155% of the 10-year average acreage. Oregon is experiencing its most severe fire season by acreage in recorded history. Washington has burned 650,000 acres, its worst year since 2021. The National Preparedness Level has been held at 5, the maximum, requiring deployment of military forces and international firefighters to supplement an already-strained civilian workforce.
The suppression costs associated with this season are expected to be among the highest ever recorded, with implications that will ripple through agency budgets for years.
Are Investments Keeping Pace?
Congress funneled substantial funding to federal and state wildland fire managers through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in recent years. But wildfire policy researchers and state foresters have consistently said those funds were not nearly enough for the task at hand — whether for hazardous fuels reduction, training of wildfire professionals, equipment purchases, or community education and hardening.
A current continuing resolution maintains fire-related programs at FY2026 funding levels while longer-term FY2027 appropriations are negotiated. Fire management advocates warn that flat funding, combined with rising operational costs driven by inflation and a more active fire environment, amounts to a real-terms cut in capacity.
Workforce and Retention
Firefighter pay and retention remain critical pressure points. Despite improvements to base pay enacted in recent years, the wildland firefighting workforce faces ongoing competition from higher-paying private-sector work, and attrition driven by the intense physical and psychological demands of the job. As the population exposed to wildfire grows, so too does the need for a larger, better-supported firefighting workforce.
Fuels Treatment: The Long-Term Lever
Prescribed fire and mechanical fuel treatments — thinning, mastication, and targeted burns that reduce the intensity of future wildfires — are widely viewed as the most cost-effective long-term strategy for reducing wildfire damage. But they require consistent, multi-year funding that is difficult to secure under annual appropriations cycles and faces opposition when communities object to prescribed smoke or operational risk.
With above-average fire risk forecast across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho through at least September, the 2026 season will continue to test both the resources and the resolve of the agencies, communities, and policymakers responsible for keeping the Pacific Northwest safe.