Report Military Installation Resilience: Wildfire

Wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent and more widespread. The Los Angeles wildfires could be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, and the Lahaina fire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, was the deadliest wildfire in over 100 years. Canada also experienced its worst fire season ever in 2023, leading to dangerous air quality in parts of the U.S. for the first time.  

Land area burned by wildfires varies by state. More fires occur in the eastern and central United States, but those in the West are larger and burn more acreage. In fact, burned acreage in the West has increased noticeably in nearly every month of the year, not just during peak fire season.  

While fire is an important agent of renewal for vegetated ecosystems, its effects can be devastating. Often triggered by lightning strikes or human activities, fires are then fueled by dry conditions, intense heat, high winds and flammable materials, rapidly spreading through forests, grasslands or bush areas where people now live in larger numbers.  

Wildfires are also stressing budgets at all levels. The Department of the Interior and Forest Service nearly doubled their combined spending on wildfire management from 2011 to 2020. At the state level, wildfire suppression costs in Washington averaged $153 million per year over the past five years. And suppression costs are only a small fraction of the total cost of wildfires when considering disaster recovery, business losses, damaged infrastructure and public health.  

Effect of Wildfires on Military Operations 

Wildfire is a constant concern for the military. Wildfire impacts the ability to conduct military training and put personnel at risk. But wildfire does not have to breach the fence line of an installation to jeopardize military operations. Even a military installation that is not directly affected can suffer disruption due to wildfire smoke, damaged electrical power lines, contaminated water supply, limited access to roadways and bridges, or impacts to off-base housing.  

Installation Examples 

• In 2012, the Waldo Canyon Fire consumed over 18,000 acres, threatening the U.S. Air Force Academy outside Colorado Springs, Colo. Damages totaled $16 billion, and Air Force resources were mobilized including Air National Guard personnel, ground vehicles and C-130s. 

• A wildfire at Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California in 2016 burned over 10,000 acres and delayed a scheduled satellite launch.  

• In 2020, more than 200 U.S. Army North Soldiers from Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord were deployed to California to support wildland fire ground response operations in the August Complex. The August Complex of fires began as 37 lightning-ignited fires and burned more than 1 million acres. 

• Hundreds of DOD personnel actively supported response and recovery efforts after the Lahaina Fire in Hawaii in 2023.  

DOD's Office of the Secretary of Defense has several programs dedicated to supporting installations and ranges with responding to wildfire threats.  

Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program 

The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program supports off-base wildfire management. The REPI program prevents incompatible development, protects critical habitat, and improves military installation resilience. Through the REPI program, the military services can enter into cost-sharing agreements with partners to plan, develop, and implement military installation resilience projects designed to reduce risks from droughts and wildfires. By supporting wildfire risk reduction measures, including conducting prescribed burns and removing hazardous fuel loads, the REPI program is positioned to help installations, surrounding communities and states avoid serious damages from hazardous wildfires.  

REPI Project Examples 

• Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station [Colorado] 

Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station faces significant wildfire risks from both accidental fires at the nearby state park and lightning. REPI and several partners invested a total of $849,000 in the 2024 REPI Challenge as part of a long-term wildfire mitigation effort in El Paso County’s Wildfire Urban Interface. Efforts for the project will enable the state park to reduce its fuel load, creating a defensible firebreak to project against large wildfires, thereby minimizing the risk of fires starting in this area. 

• Fort Huachuca [Arizona] 

Located in southeastern Arizona, Fort Huachuca is home to premier restricted military airspace for unmanned aircraft system training, as well as the Buffalo Soldier Electronic Test Range and electromagnetic complex, supporting training for personnel across the services. REPI provided $2 million in 2024 to support compatible land use and preemptive actions for extreme drought and wildfire events, one of the greatest threats to the installation’s infrastructure.  

• Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station and Camp Navajo [Arizona] 

As part of the 2023 REPI Challenge, Camp Navajo and Naval Observatory Flagstaff received $1 million in REPI program funding, coupled with $9.6 million in partner funding, to thin unhealthy forests in the neighboring Coconino County. In Northern Arizona, catastrophic wildfire threatens the Army National Guard’s training mission at Camp Navajo Flagstaff, and the Naval Precision Optical Interferometer at Anderson Mesa, located 20 miles southeast of the Flagstaff naval observatory. Reducing the risk of disastrous wildfires and post-fire flooding will enable flexible execution of the mission and construction of new facilities.  

• Pōhakuloa Training Area [Hawaii]  

Pōhakuloa Training Area is a joint/combined arms facility that provides logistics, public works and airfield support in furtherance of the U.S. Army Pacific training strategy. In 2024 REPI Challenge, the installation received $1.3 million in REPI funds and another $1.2 million from the state department of land and natural resources to restore 3,300 acres of remnant native forest and pasture lands in the upper elevations of Mauna Kea. The project will have long-term environmental and ecological benefits, including habitat restoration and wildfire mitigation. This is one of 14 projects in Hawaii funded by the REPI Challenge since 2021. 

Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation  

DOD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) also supports efforts to address wildfire threats. OLDCC works with states, U.S. territories and communities to foster cooperation with military installations that enhance the military mission. OLDCC’s Installation Readiness program provides grants to plan, enhance infrastructure, and implement measures that contribute to maintaining or improving a military installation’s readiness, sustainability and lethality.  

OLDCC Project Examples 

• Central Florida Regional Planning Council  

Received $416,000 in OLDCC funding in fiscal year 2023 to undertake a military installation resilience review with the Avon Park Air Force Range to assess changing natural environmental conditions, including wildfire.  

• City of Fairfield, California  

Received $1.3 million in OLDCC funding in FY 2022 to conduct a study analyzing the impact of public safety power outages, wildfires, drought, high winds and other threats on the regional infrastructure supporting Travis Air Force Base. 

• City of San Angelo, Texas  

Received $362,500 in OLDCC funding in FY 2022 to undertake a waterline design to support the continued mission readiness of Goodfellow Air Force Base. The new water line will increase water quantity and quality and improve fire protection for the installation, which includes the Louise F. Garland DOD Fire Academy.  

State Legislation 

From 2022-2024, state legislators considered over 300 bills related to wildfire mitigation and management. Legislation was enacted in 20 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Washington .

State policy options can be used to address wildfires include risk assessments, land use planning, vegetation management, workforce development and financial assistance.  

State legislation can also support disaster resilience broadly. For example, at least 28 states and the District of Columbia have designated a chief resilience officer and/or created a resiliency office to facilitate the exchange of information across agencies and leverage funding to support community priorities.  

Taken together these policies can help states, communities, and nearby military installations, prevent, prepare for and recover from wildfires.  

Risk Assessments  

Many states have introduced legislation in recent years to create or revise wildfire risk maps. High-quality fire risk data allows states and localities to more accurately determine which areas are most at risk and dedicate resources accordingly.  

Enacted Legislation 

• Utah HB 437 (2024): Requires the division of forestry, fire, and state lands to analyze whether an additional high-risk category should be added to the Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment Mapping Portal (UWRAP). As of 2025 the website advertises a new and improved UWRAP, providing users with an assessment of wildfire risk at specific locations across the state. Portions of Hill Air Force Base, for example, face moderate, high and high wildfire risk.  

• Washington SB 6120 (2024): Creates a statewide wildfire hazard map and a base-level wildfire risk map for each county. Permits cities, counties and towns to complete their own maps of areas at greatest risk from wildfire for use in applying the International Wildland Urban Interface Code. According to sponsor Sen. Kevin Van de Wege, the data from these maps will improve implementation of a 2018 law requiring the use of fire-resistant materials in new homes in high-hazard areas (SB 6109). 

Land Use Planning  

Land use planning measures can allow communities to grow and develop with wildfire in mind. Zoning and building codes can influence the design and placement of homes, as well as the materials used.  

Enacted Legislation 

• Colorado SB 166 (2023): Establishes a wildfire resiliency code board within the department of public safety to reduce the risk of wildfires through the adoption of statewide codes and standards. This bill was one of 11 wildfire bills signed into law in 2023 and followed the December 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado, that destroyed over 1,00 homes. Senate Bill 142 introduced this year would modify the composition of the board and create a new statutory definition of the wildland-urban interface. 

• Hawaii HB 1842 (2024): Adopts the recommendation of the wildfire prevention working group to increase monetary penalties for violations of fire protection laws to improve compliance with state and county fire codes and criminal penalties for arson in the fourth degree during red flag warnings. The working group was formed after the Lahaina Fire to identify the causes of wildfires and preventative action that may be taken to reduce the risk of wildfires throughout the state.  

• Washington HB 1032 (2023): Mitigates the risk of wildfires through electric utility planning and identification of best management practices. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent, who has made wildfire prevention a priority since taking office. 

Vegetation Management  

Vegetation management is a critical part of wildfire mitigation that involves removing or modifying vegetation to reduce the risk of wildfires. There are several types of vegetation management, including prescribed fires, defensible space, thinning, grazing, fire breaks, fire safe landscaping, etc.  

Enacted Legislation 

• California SB 675 (2023): Formally recognizes prescribed grazing as a fire prevention tool. Requires the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to develop a plan to expand prescribed grazing. According to the Senate Rules Committee bill analysis, the bill’s author, Sen. Monique Limon stated, “Ecological grazing is a versatile wildfire mitigation strategy with proven benefits including soil health and carbon sequestration, native plant and habitat restoration, and the production of local food and fiber.” Sixty-six organizations, companies, local governments and interest groups formally supported the legislation and none were opposed. 

• Oregon HB 4016 (2024): Relates to a pilot program to increase use of prescribed fire and cultural burning and support fire practitioners by providing liability coverage. Allows for claims covering certain losses arising from escaped fires.  

• Oregon SB 872 (2023): Supports furthering shared stewardship to decrease wildfire risk through increased partnership with federal agencies to expand activities under the Good Neighbor Authority Agreement in federal forests through increasing forest thinning, reducing ladder fuels and other hazardous fuel loading, restoring meadowland and increasing biomass utilization. 

• Texas HB 162 (2023): Relates to minimum standards for prescribed burns. Requires the burn boss to be present on site during the prescribed burn. 

Workforce Development 

Attracting and retaining fire and forestry workers continues to be a challenge at the state and federal level. A recent study by the GAO identified seven barriers to employment, including low pay, career advancement challenges, poor work-life balance, mental health, remote or expensive duty stations, lack of diversity and hiring process issues.  

Enacted Legislation 

• Arizona HB 2751 (2024): Adopts the Great Plains Wildland Fire Protection Compact, entering into a mutual aid agreement with other member states for the purposes of forest firefighting. The compact allows member states to both request and render aid in combatting, controlling or preventing forest fires, thereby adding qualified personnel to the ranks of a state’s forest fighting workforce. The measure passed nearly unanimously in both chambers. 

• Colorado SB 5 (2023): Directs the state forest service to develop educational materials for high school students about career opportunities in forestry and wildfire mitigation. Creates a timber, forest health, and wildfire mitigation industries workforce development program to help fund internships in those industries.  

• Hawaii SB 2085 (2024): Reestablishes the position of state fire marshal for coordinating fire protection efforts, working with local and state agencies on fire services, enforcing the state fire code, assessing fire risks, reviewing emergency resources, and overseeing public education on fire safety. 

• Louisiana SB 326 (2024): Establishes an educational training program to address post-traumatic stress and to provide emotional support for wildland firefighters to cope with the stress of their jobs. The bill passed with unanimous support in both legislative chambers. The fiscal note accompanying the bill stated, “There is no anticipated direct material effect on governmental expenditures as a result of this measure.” 

Financial Assistance  

Several states have established their own grant programs, tax credits and other technical assistance to support homeowners, businesses, and rural communities with wildfire mitigation.  

Enacted Legislation 

• California AB 2469 (2024): Extends the repeal date of the California Wildfire Mitigation Financial Assistance Program from 2025 to 2029. The program was created in 2019 to encourage cost-effective wildfire resilience measures to create fire-resistant homes, businesses, public buildings and public spaces. 

• Colorado HB 1006 (2024): Directs the rural opportunity office to assist rural communities with identifying and applying for state or federal grants for wildfire mitigation, prevention, response, or risk management efforts. Prime sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Velasco represents the rural counties of Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin, areas that according to her are “often most at risk for wildfire-related damage and displacement.” 

• Colorado HB 1007 (2022): Adds a tax credit for wildfire hazard mitigation expenses. Creates a grant program to support outreach among landowners in high wildfire hazard areas. 

• Colorado HB 1273 (2023): Establishes the wildfire resilient homes grant program to assist homeowners with retrofitting or otherwise improving their property with proven techniques for structure hardening. Rep. Marc Snyder who sponsored the bill was mayor of Manitou Springs in 2012 when the Waldo Canyon Fire threatened his city and the nearby U.S. Air Force Academy.   

• Oregon SB 80 (2023): Expands philanthropy pathways to the community risk reduction fund and creates the landscape resiliency fund. According to a report from the state’s wildfire programs director, the funding measures in this bill will continue to help attract federal dollars, open pathways for philanthropic investments and allow state funds to be deployed across multiple biennia. 

In addition to the measures above, some states like Washington have created specific funds for mitigation activities to ensure funding is not pulled away for firefighting needs. States are also finding ways to support local governments and work together to decrease wildfire risk. For example, Arizona set up a revolving loan fund for local governments to access if they need mitigation funds while they await federal reimbursement. Utah incentivizes local governments to invest in mitigation projects as a condition of receiving state suppression coverage and cost-share negotiation support. Under Nevada’s Wildland Fire Protection Program, the state provides financial assistance to participating fire protection districts during a wildfire.  

Other Examples 

• Arizona HB 2012 (2024): Requires the state forester to provide a written report and presentation to the legislature including, among other things, current and ongoing wildfire mitigation and suppression activities. 

• Colorado HB 1024 (2024): Requires the state forest service to conduct enhanced wildfire awareness month outreach campaigns through 2027 and other outreach efforts through the 2026-27 state fiscal year that are expected to increase awareness of wildfire risk mitigation by residents in the wildland-urban interface.