In a rare display of bipartisan unity, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously last week to pass the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act (WEPA) of 2026, legislation designed to reduce regulatory hurdles that currently make it difficult for states and communities to use prescribed fire as a fuel management tool. The bill, championed by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), now heads to the House.

What WEPA Does

The Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act addresses a persistent barrier to prescribed fire use: air quality regulations that treat smoke from intentional, managed burns the same as smoke from catastrophic wildfires. Under current law, states risk violating Clean Air Act standards when conducting prescribed burns, even when those burns are designed to ultimately reduce wildfire smoke over the long term.

WEPA would provide regulatory relief and clearer pathways for states, tribes, and communities to use prescribed fire without triggering air quality violations — making it significantly easier for land managers to conduct the fuel reduction work that reduces catastrophic fire risk. Supporters include environmental groups, state forestry agencies, and tribal governments who have long argued that fire exclusion policies have left western forests dangerously overstocked with combustible material.

A Crisis That Demanded Action

The Senate vote came against the backdrop of an extraordinary and financially devastating 2026 wildfire season. As of early September, the U.S. Forest Service and the newly designated U.S. Wildland Fire Service had dedicated over $6 billion in fire suppression budget authority — nearly exhausting the entire federal fire suppression budget before the traditional end of fire season.

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a joint letter to federal fire management officials in September, sounding the alarm about resource and budget shortfalls during peak fire season, when firefighting demands remained high across the West.

Calls for a Reserve Fund

Budget analysts and fire policy advocates are also renewing calls for Congress to reauthorize the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act’s Reserve Fund — sometimes called the “fire funding fix” — which was designed to treat suppression of large catastrophic fires like other natural disasters, drawing from emergency reserves rather than cannibalizing the Forest Service’s regular operating budget.

“2026 is on track to be the biggest fire season in a decade. Wildfire ‘season’ is no longer confined to the hot, dry summer months; it’s a year-round threat that costs taxpayers and communities billions of dollars,” wrote Taxpayers for Common Sense in a recent analysis. “The only question is whether Congress will have the common sense to reauthorize the Reserve Fund before our wallets get burned.”

National Context

  • Year-to-date 2026: 62,738 fires have burned more than 9 million acres nationally
  • That represents 135% of the 10-year average number of fires and 147% of average acres burned
  • Federal fire suppression spending: over $6 billion committed in 2026
  • Oregon alone: 2.1 million acres burned, $1.4 billion in suppression costs (record)
  • Senate vote on WEPA: unanimous, bipartisan

For Oregon and Washington’s Congressional delegations, 2026 has crystallized the argument that fire policy reform is no longer optional. Whether the House acts quickly on WEPA — and whether a reserve fund fix is included in forthcoming appropriations legislation — will determine how prepared the nation is for 2027 and beyond.